Sackville, New Brunswick’s Bordertown Festival returns for their fifth edition. Running from May 22 to May 26, Bordertown expands upon the definition of a festival, with far more than simply music. Their five-day schedule of arts and culture events run the gamut from literature to music, from comedy to chain mail crafting…
First and foremost on the bill are two names in East Coast music that need no introduction, Joel and Bill Plaskett. Curiously enough, the Bordertown organizers have shaken things up with a double bill that pairs the musicians with comedian James Mullinger.
“I could not be more excited to be playing the Bordertown festival,” says Mullinger. “First of all, I adore Sackville. It is one of those magical towns that ticks all the boxes. World class university. Gorgeous book shops. An art gallery on every block. The world’s best gluten-free cafe. A hotel that the queen stayed at. A truly independent cinema, the Vogue, which is incidentally where I will be performing.
“What I love about the town and this festival is that they genuinely embrace the arts. And they don’t pigeonhole the arts. In some Atlantic Canadian towns and cities when people talk about the arts they exclude stand up comedy from that. Rather like the government do. Which is depressing and wrong. So, I love the Bordertown for embracing stand up for what it is and what it does and I am obviously hugely honoured to be headlining alongside a bona fide legend like Joel Plaskett.”
The rest of the festival’s lineup of performs include Jane Siberry, Kenny James and Mark Green, Stacey Read and Billy King and Friends, and Kirsty Money and Jude Pelley.
The festival also includes the world premiere of “Cole” performed by Live Bait Theatre, telling the story of Sackville speed skating champion Chester Cole.
On top of that the festival will be host to a playwright’s cabaret, fine arts workshops, readings by Shandi Mitchell, and a Walk in the Park fundraising event for Alzheimers.
Also, and we don’t want to be bury the headline here, but there’s a medieval arts display and demonstration being presented by SCA Avonmore. You can work on medieval cooking, costuming, illuminated manuscripts and play around with chainmail. You could have a whole festival dedicated to just that.
“We’re very excited about this year’s lineup”, said Festival Director Ron Kelly Spurles. “We’ve got some great acts, and excellent partners, that will really showcase the sort of top-notch entertainment that Sackville has to offer. We expect it will be a busy weekend with lot of people visiting our great restaurants and boutique shops as well.”
More information on the Bordertown Festival, including a complete schedule and ticket information, can be found at www.sackville.com/bordertown