Tracey Breitbach
Northern News Services
Friday, July 6, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A dancing polar bear, a flock of fiddlers, and acrobats flying into the Midnight Sun.

This summer, join us as we "Take it outside, eh!" Folk on the Rocks Festival 2007 pays special tribute to all things uniquely Canadian from July 13-15.

As vast and geographically diverse as Canada is, so is its culture and music. Musicians have always been influenced by Canada's majestic natural environment. Our roots and cultures stem from our environments.

Whether we hail from the East Coast, the West Coast, the Prairies, the Rockies or the far reaches of the Arctic, the differences seem remarkable, yet they are what unify us as Canadians.

Of course as Canadians we all know the stereotypes that continue to plague us. As Northerners, these stereotypes are even more pronounced.

We could not help but poke fun at them this year. After all, as Northerners, we know all about living in the "Great White North." From the long brutal winters, to the mosquito-infested summers, some of us do wear plaid underwear and shirts, canoe to work and suffer genuine, rustic cabin fever.

With the wilderness at our doorstep, we cannot help but feel like true pioneers. And we all know a fridge full of trout, caribou or moose and beer is the good life.

This year, Folk on the Rocks is doing a special spotlight on Canadian fiddle music as it has always been close to the heart of Canada.

Thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts and the NWT Arts Council, "Strings and Roots" is Folk on the Rocks' fifth performer collaboration project, and by far our largest and most complex to date.

We have invited 22 artists of various fiddling traditions from across Canada and the Arctic.

Some of these include Dene and Métis from the Northwest Territories, Inuit from Nunavut, Celtic from Cape Breton, bluegrass from the West Coast and finally East European (klezmer, Ukrainian and Roma) from the prairies.

As a special twist we have also invited Chinese instrumentalists and non-traditional fiddling artists who combine the sound of their violins with electronic dance beats, rock ska, reggae, hip hop, jungle and drum 'n bass.

We are asking that the artists experiment with these different traditions and contemporary musical influences and culminate their efforts in a special performance at Folk on the Rocks as part of the overall festival programming.

Featuring artists from Hungry Hill, the Kole Crook Fiddlers, Strings Across the Sky, Kytami, the Plaid Tongued Devils, Silk Road Music and many others, these artists are preparing a very special performance for festival goers.

Don't miss them at 4:15pm on Saturday at Main Stage.

- Tracey Breitbach is festival director of Folk on the Rocks