The OCFF is sad to note the passing of Tam Kearney, co-founder of the Friends of Fiddler’s Green (2003 EKA recipients), musician, storyteller, and friend to many in our corner of the musical world. Our condolences to his family and his many friends.

The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Alka Sharma as its new Executive Director.

Alka brings a great depth of organizational experience to the OCFF. Most recently, she was the interim Executive Director of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and before that, spent 10 years as Senior Manager, Operations at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She also has experience in community and public radio, knows how to organize and manage large events, and brings both a cheerful energy and financial acumen to the OCFF office.

Alka takes over the reins beginning in April; the board and staff look forward to a smooth transition from the years under the expert guidance of Peter MacDonald, and to a new era in the expanding life of the OCFF.

“I am very excited to start my new position as Executive Director for the OCFF! I look forward to meeting and working with everyone in making the OCFF a stronger and vibrant organization, more than it already is within the Ontario folk community. I wish Peter MacDonald all the best and hope that I can live up to everything that he has put forth for the organization,” said Sharma.

Canadian Music Week – March 19-24, 2013 – Toronto, ON

The OCFF has negotiated a 30% discount on Canadian Music Week 2013 registrations for our members. This rate continues until March 15, 2013. Your OCFF membership must be current to access this rate. Register online, using promo code “CMWOCFF13” to receive the reduced rate.

Your registration includes access to 3 days of International Music Summit sessions (including the Songwriters’ & Publishers’ Summit, the Live Touring Summit, and the Social Music Tech Summit), exhibits, festival showcases, film festival screenings, Canadian International Comedy Fest performances and a delegate bag.

Canadian Music Week is Canada’s largest and most influential music and media conference and festival. Combining 4 distinct conferences, award shows, a trade exposition, film festival, international marketplace, comedy festival and Canada’s biggest new music festival – Canadian Music Fest – it is a mini global village for artists and industry executives to engage in current issues, gain insights on trends and cutting-edge technologies affecting their marketplace, network and build lasting relationships with tomorrow’s leaders. Canadian Music Week 2013 will feature a Spotlight on Japan/South Korea as well as a focus on Northern Europe’s Nordic Regions whereby CMW delegates will have the opportunity to connect and network with market specialists and gain access to these vast global markets.

Through seminars, debates, keynotes/celebrity interviews, and mentoring sessions, CMW conferences attract more than 3,000 delegates.

The conferences are designed to put you face-to-face with the forward-thinkers who shape the entertainment industries –from sound recording, new media, and broadcast to live touring, film, and technology. Confirmed programming to date includes: a celebrity interview with Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart; the ever-popular live music makeover with Tom Jackson; and the Music Synch and Consumer Brands Summit featuring leading music supervisors looking to place music in upcoming advertisements, films, and TV productions plus much more to be announced.

The festival spans five nights of performances with more than 900 showcasing artists from 40 countries at 60 live music venues.  For artists, this is a once-in-a-year opportunity to get in front of over 3,000 industry insiders – from A&R reps and music publishers to booking agents, promoters, and talent buyers – 100,000 music fans, and 600 media reps from Canada and all over the world.

A hearty thank you goes out to all of the artists who participated in Art Beat, the OCFF’s community outreach program, at the 2013 Folk Alliance conference.  Ten artists visited long-term care facilities, women’s and men’s shelters and a school in downtown Toronto and shared their music with the appreciative audiences there.  The artists’ participation was voluntary and no fee was charged to any of the organizations that hosted a concert.

The OCFF gets many questions every week about what we do, who we serve and even what the meaning of “folk music” is today! Some of the most common questions come from people who want to get started on something new in their artistic lives or their communities. Three of the most common revolve around showcasing at a conference or festival, putting on a house concert, and starting a festival. Well, we thought it was time to go to some experts in these fields and produce some videos covering the basics.

The OCFF is grateful to the Ontario Arts Council for a project grant that helped us imagine, create and produce these videos. Andy Frank of frankcasting new media produced these videos for the OCFF. We are grateful to him and to the many OCFF members and associates who participated in them: Manitoba Hal Brolund, Nicole Colbeck, Dave Cool, Heather Daley, Paul Loewenberg, Magoo, Jory Nash, Mitch Podolak, Candace Shaw and Carolyn Sutherland. Watch the videos here!

There has been considerable response to to our initial posting of the OCFF Executive Director position, which the Board’s Hiring Committee is still working through. Nevertheless the committee has decided to re-post the position with a new deadline and some slight revisions, as follows:

The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals is the largest folk and roots music organization in Canada. Its mission is to support the growth and development of folk music in Ontario by supporting the growth and development of presenters and performers. OCFF is currently in the fourth year of implementing a five-year strategic plan aimed at facilitating a stronger, more engaged, connected and active folk music community in Ontario.

The ideal candidate:

You have a passion for the performing arts and are ready for the challenge of leading a membership-based, not-for-profit arts organization in a stimulating and supportive folk music community, with a small staff, an ambitious province-wide mandate, and an annual conference with a national and international reach.

You excel at working independently and providing proactive leadership to multiple, concurrent initiatives, while being accountable to – and implementing strategies set by – a Board of Directors.

You have a track record of success in financial management, planning, grant applications and fund raising, public relations, and administration, as well as working with performers, community organizations, volunteer boards, government funders, and private sponsors.

You have experience in organizing successful large events, coordinating suppliers and volunteers, and “thinking on your feet”.

Bilingualism may be an additional asset you bring to the role.

Location: The OCFF office is currently in Ottawa.

Salary range: $45,000 – $55,000 plus benefits

For more information, please visit www.ocff.ca or contact Katharine Partridge, OCFF Board of Directors, at 905-372 4694.

Send your application with covering letter and résumé to hiringcommittee@folkmusicontario.ca no later than January 18, 2013. Applications will be treated in confidence. Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

To get a sense of what happens late on Friday and Saturday nights of the conference on the Private Showcase floors, please watch Songwriters Unite!: An OCFF Story, created at the 2011 OCFF conference in Niagara Falls by Jason Romolo, Peter J. Slack and Russell Leon.

In recognition of its partnership with the OCFF, Folk Alliance International (FAI) would like to invite current OCFF members to register for the 2013 conference in Toronto at the current FAI member rate ($400.00 per person). To take advantage of this offer, register online, and in the section for FAI member ID, please enter “OCFF“.

FAI staff will be checking with the OCFF, so please make sure you are either a current FAI member or OCFF member. This discount does not apply to official showcasing artists as they are required to be FAI members. Discount may not be combined with other discounts. The 2013 Folk Alliance International conference will take place February 20-24, 2013 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, ON.

Renowned music industry journalist and former OCFF Director Larry LeBlanc has been recognized for his decades of contribution to the Canadian music industry. Larry will be presented with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2013 Juno Awards. Read the press release here.

Take a look at some great pictures from the 26th annual conference, taken by Mike Bourgeault and James Dean!