Festival to celebrate “29½” years, support local artists, and celebrate downtown Fredericton
With COVID-19 forcing the cancellation of Harvest’s 30th anniversary, organizers are pushing ahead with a virtual celebration at 7:00pm ADT on Saturday, September 19th, and encouraging the community to show their love for the downtown business community that has been so important to Harvest over the years.
Dubbed “Harvest 29½”, this exciting 3 hour online presentation will feature archival footage of some of the many memorable moments in Harvest history, unveil brand new performances from local artists and Harvest favourites, and feature appearances from eight Headline artists who might otherwise have been in Fredericton in-person this Fall.
Harvest 29½ will be streamed for free via the festival’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Patrons are encouraged to attend one of the many viewing parties at local restaurants and pubs that will be announced in the coming days.
“We needed a way to support local musicians, the local music industry and our downtown business partners and this special event is a way to achieve all of that while still respecting the new reality of COVID safety protocols” said festival programmer, Brent Staeben. “Our first priority this summer has been to lay the foundation for our rebirth in 2021 but we knew we also needed to step out and provide some significant value for the funders who have helped us stay alive in 2020.”
Harvest is also partnering with downtown businesses and making a number of its highly coveted Ultimate Passes available for contesting. From September 13th – 19th, downtown patrons will be able to submit their names for a chance to win one of 50 passes for the 2021 festival.
Staeben says the community should watch for a few more surprises, too including the release of the headline acts for the online special. “The big event might be online, but we still want it to feel a little like ‘Harvest week’ here in downtown Fredericton. Our staff and volunteers have been working hard to make that happen. Watch our social media for more details!”
Harvest 29½ is made possible thanks to the generous support of the TD Ready Commitment, The Ginger Agency, UNB, ANBL, Taylor Printing, The Fox 105.3, The Federal Government, Government of New Brunswick, and the City of Fredericton.