30 Super Cool Tidbits About Peterborough Musicfest
/1. The festival was first launched in 1987 as the Peterborough Summer Festival of Lights. In 2010, the name changed to Little Lake Musicfest but rebranded as Peterborough Musicfest in 2013. Our community is so lucky to have had this free summer festival for over 30 years!
Chad Brownlee
2. Fred Anderson was the founder of the festival from the start, until he passed away in 2006.
Fred Anderson at left
3. The first ever artist to perform for the festival was Canadian jazz musician Moe Koffman on July 1, 1987.
4. The concerts were setup to be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays to coincide with the Peterborough Farmers Markets to entice out-of-towners.
Alan Doyle
5. Current General Manager Tracey Randall was a college student on staff the first two years of the festival, working as part of the boat crew.
6. Over 125,000 attend the festival annually.
Tom Jackson
7. 63 percent of visitors are local but the Festival has attracted visitors from all over the world. This year, guests travelled from Texas and London, England to see Kiefer Sutherland.
Visitors from England and Texas for Kiefer
8. Musicfest generates a $4.2 million tourist boost to the region.
9. Musicfest has only two full-time year-round staff but in the summer months the team grows to 14 paid employees and over 50 volunteers!
Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy
10. The 60x30 foot stage is built on sawdust and landfill.
11. The stage at Del Crary Park is called the Fred Anderson Stage, named after Musicfest’s founder.
12. Today, both Federal and Provincial governments support Musicfest with grant funding, along with municipal support over the years.
Serena Ryder
13. Although the concerts are free to attend, the artists are still paid to perform. Musicfest is a non-profit organization with over 100 sponsors whose partnership dollars help cover these costs.
Walk Off The Earth
14. $54,000 was granted from Celebrate Ontario for the opening act of the 30th Anniversary Season.
15. In addition to concerts every Wednesday and Saturday, Musicfest holds a special concert on Canada Day (regardless of the day of the week). The Rotary Clubs of Peterborough and Peterborough-Kawartha continue to provide fireworks at the park on Canada Day.
16. As part of the 30th Anniversary Season in 2016, actor Kiefer Sutherland performed with his band on one of 11 Canadian stops.
17. Up until 2004, each night of the festival included fireworks and a boat light show.
18. The festival has featured a variety of entertainers over the years, including hypnotists, magicians and dancers.
19. The artist who has performed the most at Peterborough Musicfest is John McDermott with 10 appearances.
John McDermott
20. The largest concert in the festival's history is Gordon Lightfoot in 2001.
21. The largest concert of 2016—the 30th Anniversary Season—was Millbrook’s own Serena Ryder with an estimated 16,000 people in attendance.
Serena Ryder concert aerial
22. There have been 585 different performers over the 30 year span of the festival.
23. Some of the most talked about concerts have been Carly Rae Jepsen, Tegan and Sara, Davey Jones and Gordon Lightfoot.
Carly Rae Jepsen
