Several Williams Lake artists participated in the third annual Hootstock Festival held in the Old Bradley Creek School House in Forest Grove Friday, July 25 to Sunday, July 27.
The festival brings together the talents of people performing music, dance, and the spoken word.
Some of the participants from the Williams Lake area included Brent Morton (Drum and Bell Tower), Troy Forcier, Oren Barter, Lorne Dufour and Sage Birchwater, Thom Walker and John Kopas.
“This was the third year for Hootstock and it was a hoot,” Birchwater says. “Very intimate and grassroots with a main stage and tweener stage…”
Other groups and individual performers from around B.C. and beyond included Tamar Ilana and the Ventana with upbeat Bulgarian dance tunes, Greek, Turkish and Sephardic love songs, and heart-wrenching Flamenco dances.
Environmental rockers The Rebel Spell; gypsy-jazz group Red Haven; folk-noir fiddler and singer-songwriter Jeff Andrew; singer-songwriters Becky Russell, Britt Meierhofer, Papa Lung; dancers Bonnie McLean and Rak’Shada; narrative folk songwriter Tereza Tomek; Cariboo author historian and storyteller Marianne Van Osch; Amber Bowen from 100 Mile House; and dozens more groups and individuals were on the play bill.
The old Bradley Creek School House is located just past Ruth Lake and was built circa 1936 by some pioneers from the community.
It closed as a school house in the late 1950s and has since been used as a community gathering place. Over the years it has heard the laughter of many children at countless Christmas, Easter and other parties.
The main site also boarders a Schoolhouse Lake Provincial Park. A trail leads from the main site and takes 40 minutes to hike, really great swimming.
Ruth Lake Park is right down Eagle Creek road about a five minute drive.
As well Bradley Creek flows just across the road.