Arts

CHANGE OF SCENERY, CHANGE IN PRICE?

Displaced by construction occurring over at TD Place, CityFolk moved on over to the RA Centre on Riverside Drive this year – adding roughly ten minutes to your commute for a night of some fun tunes. Whether students stuck with Uber or Lyft’s surge-dependent pricing, or paid the fare, which keeps climbing, the change of scenery managed to bring out increased attendance and new vendors for five nights of performances.

As for getting into the show, while ticket prices saw a small increase of about five dollars, now amounting to $65, CityFolk also continued to offer deals based on attending three or all five nights of shows.

Rest assured, price and distance did not deter many. Students showed up for CityFolk as they always have, including on my bus which resembled a mosh pit more than an easy-listening lounge. I did have the pleasure of being able to eavesdrop on a heated conversation about “challenging your sensei.”

Once formally inside the venue, the new space CityFolk occupied became much more appreciable. An increase in port-a-potties, a new market, The Vintage Village held by 613flea, and over a dozen opportunities for students to spend a little money on food, all went appreciated. Among the new vendors, however, was a tattoo pop-up utilizing AI-generated graphics for its promotional material – hardly the kind of attitude that screams a love for the arts.

With a bad taste in my mouth, I figured that I would explore the venue. I headed towards the Vintage Village and began my internal struggle with whether I should buy a cowboy hat or not. Concert tunes played ambiently. I sifted through fashionable vintage. I realized the cowboy hat was priced disagreeably, at prices in tune with the ‘curated thrift’ moment we live in, so I opted to pick up a cute old CHEO pin for $3. 

The presence of 613flea at CityFolk this year gave opportunities to stop and talk with others as you dug through old finds, which made for some real fun. Hopefully it will remain a side attraction while the festival maintains its focus on bringing much-deserved attention to upcoming Canadian stars. Realizing that the browsing process distracted me from the music I was here for, I focused back into what sounded like a familiar tune. 

Coming from the big stage, Stella Lefty has been an artist placed under controversy after accusations of nepotism and plagiarism. Admittedly, I had never heard of her work before that night’s performance, but there was a striking similarity between her chorus in ‘Boston’ and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season. That coincidence lingered as I passed by the tattoo pop-up again with its gaudy AI advertisements.

After browsing, I began my investigation of CityFolk’s varied food stalls. The CityFolk Bar, Snack Shack, The Thirsty Dog, Little Victories, BeaverTails, Green Papaya, Bombay Garden, Domino’s, and Golden Fries all attempted to grab a slice of my wallet – and with prices set at festival usuals, be prepared to pick one and stick with it. Most small meals (read: ‘hold you over’) seemed to hold at about $15 (such as Bombay Garden’s tandoori chicken with naan). 

Looking to grab a refreshment, I curiously noticed that CityFolk’s Snack Shack sold their sodas at five cents less than bottled water. An oddity given that Bluesfest this summer had free water refill stations for all attendees. If such an opportunity was present at CityFolk this year, it was not well advertised. 

I headed out from the festival to the tune of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ being blasted through the venue speakers and looked at OCTranspo’s response to CityFolk’s significant attendance. In previous years, public transportation often struggled to match the number of attendees leaving at once as the festival ended for the evening – resulting in buses such as the 6 and 7 being densely packed. 

In response, this year OCTranspo held several buses of varying routes outside the centre, allowing for attendees to self-sort and moderate the congestion created by several thousand people leaving en masse. All I had to do was leave the front entrance, find the bus I wanted, and go about regular business. Painless and effortless, which was a surprise!