What sprung forth as one-off in 2018 has evolved into a highly anticipated multi-act live music event in North Kawartha Township with community as its anchor.
Held on an Eels Creek-hugging property off Highway 28 in Apsley, the Creekside Music Festival is returning for a fifth year from Friday, September 6th to Sunday, September 8th.
The lineup is again headlined by Toronto-based pop-rock time machine Dwayne Gretzky, but the supporting cast is equally strong with Epic Eagles, The Weber Brothers Band, Melissa Payne and The Hicks, Brooks and Bowskill, Nicholas Campbell, and Caitlin O’Connor among the 13 other acts that will perform over two days.
“We really upped our game last year as far as talent — not that we haven’t always had incredible talent,” says Alicia Scriver, who handles social media for the festival among various other behind-the-scenes tasks.
“There were a lot of folks who hadn’t heard of Dwayne Gretzky, like ‘Who is this headliner?’ They just blew it out of the park, as they always do. They had everyone on their feet for two-and-a-half hours.”
“Also last year, we added the same stage that’s at (Peterborough) Musicfest. We had (sponsor) banners on the stage and it really felt legit. It has come so far from our wooden stage. It was more like a backyard party that first year.”
VIDEO: Creekside Music Festival
Back in 2018, a friend of Scriver’s parents (Mike and Sandy Del Mastro) was moving ahead with plans to host a family reunion. To that end, he built a timber frame stage and hired bands to play. At some point, it was decided to open up the event to the public. So it was that the first Creekside Music Festival was held — a one-day affair for which some 300 tickets were made available.
When a property adjacent to the Eels Creek site subsequently became available, the Del Mastros purchased it, not only enlarging the site but also providing a location for Mike Del Mastro’s business, Mikey D’s Fired Up Food Truck.
The extra space secured, the festival evolved into a two-day affair in 2019. After the pandemic brought things to screeching halt in 2020 and 2021, the festival returned in 2022, with single day and weekend passes available along with 100 sites for trailer and tent camping.
Last year, some 550 tickets were sold, with attendees treated Dwayne Gretzky along with The Good Brothers, Melissa Payne, Hunt The Hare, The Weber Brothers Band, and The Ireland Brothers, to name a few.
A portion of last year’s proceeds benefited Apsley Minor Hockey, the Apsley Food Band, Apsley Community Care, and the music program at Apsley Public Giving.
That giving spirit will continue with this year’s festival, with the beneficiary being Roter’s Reach Mental Health Awareness.
Launched late last year, Roter’s Reach was founded in memory of North Kawartha resident Eric Roter who, on September 25, 2023, took his own life — 13 years after he was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Just a few weeks prior to his passing, Eric — joined by family members — was at the Creekside Music Festival, helping out with various tasks.
“It is going to be an emotional one, for sure,” says Scriver of this year’s festival.
“That was the last time I saw Eric,” Scriver adds. “We’re the same age. I’ve known him since I was three years old. He was like a brother to me. The Roter family is the first to be there when anyone is in need. We spent the whole weekend together, setting up.”
“It will be absolutely bittersweet this year,” Scriver notes. “But Eric knew how to have a good time, so we want to make it about that. He loved Creekside.”
At this year’s festival, the Roter family will have a booth from which they will sell Roter’s Reach-related clothing items and hats, the proceeds of which are destined for mental health support programs and services.
In addition, festival T-shirts emblazoned with this year’s acts will also have the Roter’s Reach logo on them. Scriver says $5 from each shirt sale will also benefit Roter’s Reach. Also, starting August 5 until the festival begins, a message related to mental health awareness will be posted on the festival’s social media platforms each Monday.
Now, with the festival fast approaching, Scriver is chomping at the bit, ready to welcome the acts and attendees to what has become the little festival that could and, for five years now, has.
“Music brings people together in such a beautiful way,” she reflects on the importance of the festival. “In our community, there’s not a lot that happens, so it is something we all look forward to. We know, once a year, we’ll be together and we’ll celebrate community.”
“The whole event is really intended to be an intimate experience where you do feel part of a community. I’ve been to those festivals with 60,000 people. They’re incredible, they generate a lot of revenue, they have incredible talent, but you don’t experience the same community feel as our festival.”
The festival’s location beside Eel’s Creek, notes Scriver, is as much a draw as the lineup.
“Kids are by the river catching frogs and people are on tubes floating in the water, listening to the performances,” she observes. “How good is that? For sure, there’s some stress leading up to the festival, but then it comes and it’s like ‘Yup, this is why we do it.'”
Besides the acts mentioned above, this year’s lineup also features Kris Barclay, Leverage For Mountains, Stephanie Dauncey, Mason Moxley, Tyler Cochrane and, on Sunday, an open mic event led by The Nephton Ridge Runners. The actual performance schedule is still being finalized.
Weekend, day, and camping passes can be purchased online at www.creeksidemusicfestival.ca. A limited number of festival passes are also available in Apsley at Kemp’s Garage at 111 Burleigh Street as well as at Mikey D’s Fired Up Food Truck at 10027 Highway 28.
A weekend pass costs $145, or $115 for seniors aged 60 and up and students aged 14 to 25. A Friday night pass costs $65 while a Saturday pass costs $95. Children 13 and under are admitted free with an adult. Onsite trailer and tent camping is limited. A trailer camping pass costs $85 and a tent camping pass costs $40. These fees are in addition to the cost of a festival weekend pass.
For updates on the festival, follow Creekside Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram.
