Popular Manitoulin music festivals cancelled

The organizers of two major music festivals on Manitoulin Island have cancelled their events indefinitely.

Manitoulin Country Fest and Rockin' The Rock are popular festivals that draw thousands of people to Little Current each August. They have each featured major musical acts from across the continent.

Craig and KT Timmermans are the creators and organizers of the festivals. They announced Monday that they would be cancelling the shows due to a "serious health scare."

"In order to get that health scare under control, the big predicator behind that was reducing stress," said lead organizer KT Timmermans.

Manitoulin Country Fest has been running since 2007, and Rockin' The Rock has run since 2018. The organizers are offering refunds to anyone who has already bought tickets or a camping spot, with those details posted on their website.

Cancelled to be 'transparent'

Timmermans said she has been searching for someone to take over the festivals but was not successful. With the festival season still months away, she said she cancelled so that people could adjust their summer plans accordingly. 

"I was not feeling comfortable about having ticket sales on, knowing full well that we were not going to be able to deliver this event," she said.

Timmermans said the organizing work for each festival begins before the previous year's event has begun.

"There are just so many facets to delivering an event of that size and, you know, we are not a big team."

She said the festival was profitable, and hoped that they might find a new organizer to revive the event in future years. The couple had been hoping to find someone to gradually take over the festival, as they are now in their sixties, but their health news scuttled those plans.

Festivals a major economic boost

Timmermans said she was worried about the economic fallout from the cancellation of the festivals. While many people attend from Manitoulin Island, others come from farther away and inject money into the island economy through spending on accommodations, food and fuel.

Community groups on Manitoulin, such as the Manitoulin Panthers Hockey Association and Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association, conduct significant fundraising activities through the festivals.

"It's outside money coming onto Manitoulin, and that outside money that supports local events and local organizations is paramount to their ability to survive," Timmermans said.

She said she wasn't sure yet what would happen with the Flatrock Entertainment Centre, the event ground they own that hosts the festivals. She said she hoped someone might find a use for the stage in the future.