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A10

Nelson Hansen

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Despite having a relatively small population base, the border town of Sackville can boast of having one of the region's more vibrant arts and culture scenes. That fact will be evident this weekend as the 5th annual Festival by the Marsh kicks in to high gear.

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The festival is a unique event in that it bridges the worlds of music, art and performance. Musicians will play, writers will read and actors will act. Consider it New Brunswick's one stop cultural shopping mecca for the next week or so.

Music fans have a lot to look forward to over the coming days as some of the top names in jazz and blues will be descending into Sackville for some hot shows. Living blues legend Joe Louis Walker has played with the likes of BB King, Bonnie Raitt, James Cotton and more. You can catch this blues icon tomorrow night at George's Roadhouse. Here's the best part, tickets are only $15 dollars!

Monday night the festival brings the best in jazz to the stage with Catbird Jazz and the world renowned Jane Bunnet and the Spirits of Havana in the Brunton Auditorium. Again, focusing on value, music fans can see a 20 piece jazz ensemble for a mere $20.

Ron Kelly Spurles is Artistic Director with Festival by the Marsh, he tells [here] that opening the festival up to all disciplines of the arts ensures future success. "We envisioned this festival as having a wide appeal. We also hoped that the people who would be coming for the music would check out the art, or a play, or a reading by a well known author and vice verse. It's a great way to expose people to different things."

Spurles also points to the festival putting a strong emphasis on children's involvement to solidify the event's future.

"We have kids musical workshops and lots of events that involve the kids. It's important that the artistic community gets interactive with the young people because that will help them foster an interest in the arts and they'll keep coming back year after year as they get older."

Festival by the Marsh has free events to accompany ticketed venues and provides one of the provinces' best bangs for your entertainment dollar. Keeping low ticket prices like $15 to see Joe Louis Walker and $20 for Jane Bunnet's 20 piece Spirits of Havana ensures just about anyone can come out and enjoy a world class programme. "We're lucky to be able to keep the prices low. In the instance of our jazz night they were heading to some other shows in the region and they were able to add a night to their itinerary and we were able to get a good price which we passed on to the public".

The festival kicks into high gear this evening with a performance of Shakespeare's the Taming of the Shrew at Mount Allison's Swan Pond with a reception to follow. There's also a visit from Bob the Builder, family barbeques, theatre workshops, writer's workshops, a drive in movie, art exhibits and a ton more. For full information you can hit the festival website at www.festivalbythemarsh.ca

It's a big festival in a small town and Ron Kelly Spurles is proud to boast that it's just one of the things that makes Sackville a great place to lead an artistic life. "This is a fun event and there's a real tradition of the arts in Sackville that goes back a long, long way. Over the past five years it's really picked up. There's Live Bait Theatre, Sappy Fest, the list goes on. Having the university here is a big help too. And besides, Sackville is absolutely beautiful in the summertime."

If your NB based act, event or venue would like to be featured in this column please contact the columnist at oneyearofnbmusic@yahoo.ca