Valdy Reprise at Shelter Valley Folk Festival: Volunteers Thrilled

Canadian folk music icon, Valdy, is returning to the Shelter Valley Folk Festival. With his trademark warmth and humour, Valdy will emcee the Festival’s main stage on Saturday night, August 30th. The next day, he’ll close the Festival with his own charismatic performance.
Valdy has been hailed a national treasure and Canada’s most distinguished troubadour. With almost 40 years’ experience as a touring artist, this seasoned road-dog is a first-class performer who has sold almost half a million copies of his 14 albums, won two Juno Awards and seven nominations, and has four Gold albums to his credit. The Toronto Star calls him “one of the country's purest and most credible storytellers” and The Saskatoon Star Phoenix dubs him “a master of country, folk, rock and blues.”
Born Paul Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa in 1945 to an activist mother and a photographer father, Valdy grew up in the inner city. Now he lives in a lakefront home on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, with his wife Kathleen (artist, sculptor, writer), two cats and three dogs. His songs tell the stories of all that came in between. Of his songwriting style, Valdy says, "I cut my teeth on Henry Mancini; he taught me about melody. Combine that with a fine groove, and the rest is window dressing." Humble words from a man who has written unforgetable anthems like Play Me a Rock and Roll Song, which relates the bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968.
Valdy was on tour in northern BC with Artistic Director Aengus Finnan in 2003 when Finnan first asked if Valdy might perform at a festival that was “in the works.” True to his word, Valdy arrived to play the first Shelter Valley Folk Festival on Labour Day Weekend, 2004, where volunteers were still putting the finishing touches on the hand-hewn mainstage as the first audience members came through the gate.
Finnan recalls that Valdy “had a sage smirk that day, seeing it all come together down to the wire. He had heard about the Festival when it was just an idea and saw it in its infancy. It will be our great honour to have him close year five and commemorate how far we’ve come.”
The announcement that Valdy is on this year’s roster is a thrill for Festival volunteers, many of whom are die-hard fans. Over the years, Festival volunteers attend so many different performances that they develop discerning tastes. For them, Valdy stands out. “Valdy’s return is something to celebrate!” exclaims the Festival’s Ticket Distribution Crew Chief and music enthusiast Gary Eisenhammer. “Through his energy, music and genuine personality, Valdy embodies the values that we at Shelter Valley want to promote.”
Reminiscing on Valdy’s performance at the the first Festival, Village Coordinator Barbara Buntin recollects the connection between performer and audience. “Being around Valdy is like reuniting with a long lost member of your family. He’s so warm and welcoming.” She continues, “The entire time he was on stage, the audience was capivated.”
In fact, Valdy has captivated audiences across Europe, North America and Oceana, and is often invited to perform at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Valdy tours close to two hundred days each year, performing in theatres, community halls, school auditoriums and a string of festivals and clubs. He plays all across Canada every year and continues in his passionate role as musical ambassador.
The Shelter Valley Folk Festival is a Registered Federal Charity that presents a Labour Day Weekend family festival (August 29 - 31, 2008), and a new community outreach initiative called “Artists in the Schools.” Currently in its fifth year, the Festival celebrates music, juried art, wellness, sustainable living and harvest food in what the Toronto Star describes as a “gentle, humanistic, environmentally attuned and abundantly caring” manner. Tickets for the Festival are available at 48 King Street West in Cobourg, online at www.sheltervalley.com or through the Ticket Hotline: 1-866-612-SVFF or 905-355-1244. New volunteers and financial donors are always welcome.