Home County Music and Art Festival cancelled for 2024
'This was not a decision made lightly,' HCFL chair says
The organizers of London, Ont.'s longest-running music festival have announced the show will not go on next summer, citing financial pressures and dwindling interest from volunteers.
The Home County Music and Art Festival, first launched in 1974, has been a staple in the city's music festival scene, running three days in Victoria Park each July.
On Thursday, the board of directors of the Home County Folk League (HCFL) announced it's had to make the difficult decision of cancelling the 2024 edition and will be evaluating the viability of future events.
WATCH | Londoners react to Home County being cancelled:
"We know this cancellation is going to be met with great sadness for all the passionate Home County fans. As a board, we had to set aside personal feelings, and recognize our current financial situation and difficulties in recruiting and retaining volunteers would make holding the festival irresponsible," said HCFL chair Sara Lanthier.
"This was not a decision made lightly."
The festival runs on donations, public arts funding and vendors fees, and is operated as a registered charity. The board said costs for the festival have gone up, while income streams have not.
The board also said it had trouble recruiting new board members with the expertise to run a three-day festival, as well as the hundreds of volunteers required to be on hand to bring the show to life.
Lanthier said the board will share financial, organizational and market factors with its members at a meeting in November.
"Once we have input from our membership, we'll be in a position to determine next steps and plan for both the near- and long-term," she said.
Home County has hosted hundreds of Canadian musicians over its 49-year run, including Valdy and William Prince, and has given many local artists a stage to introduce their music.
