Big budget or no, if you put together something good, word will get around.

That’s what the organizers of Wakefest are discovering as they finalize details for the third annual multidisciplinary arts festival slated for Thursday to Sunday (August 26 to 29) in venues around Wakefield, Quebec.

Wakefest brings together music, film, theatre and visual arts, and literature in a creative melting pot that’s both crowd-pleasing and artistically challenging.

“In the past we have seen more than a thousand people come up over the course of the weekend,” said organizer Elizabeth Logue. “We are looking to double or triple that this year.”

The screening of films on the covered bridge (a Wakefield landmark) is one of the more distinctive offerings at the festival.

“For the third year in a row, we'll be showing films on the covered bridge, and like last year, with live musical accompaniment,” said Wakefest film curator Scott Duncan.

“This year Bruce Cawdron of Godspeed You Black Emperor will be heading up a version of Terry Riley's In-C, with images by me, followed by Mike Essoudry leading the Mayfair Players playing for Buster Keaton's The General.”

“It's a really magical event,” said Duncan of the screenings. “Last year during Nosferatu with music led by Mike Dubue and a gamalan ensemble, there were bats flying around the audience. It was stunning.”

Other festival highlights include a performance by the Hi-Lo Trons (their first after a year-and-a-half hiatus), and the performance art collective Fait Maison appearing after hours at Le Moo ice cream shop.

“I'm pretty proud because we're finding ways to bridge the linguistic and cultural communities of the Outaouais,” said Duncan.

“Wakefest was founded in 2008 by a group of local artists who wanted to see something that fused disciplines,” explained Logue, “that pushed boundaries and that challenged folks to engage in their own creative process by highlighting workshops and interactivity between disciplines and artists.”

“The Sunday afternoon finale event at Kaffe 1870 keeps the musical muse idea alive by putting the call out to artists and musicians to perform a song together with a house band supporting them,” continued Logue. “Every year this event grows and the buzz on the street is that it should not be missed.”

More it’s more than just bigger; this year’s festival is also “gutsier,” added Logue.

“More events and more overlapping events and programming that pushes the limits of people's imaginations,” she explained.

“Events in Wakefield tend toward family-oriented fare, and we are trying to introduce a more ‘edgy’ component. We are also trying to spread the events out into the various venues and keep it accessible by having a range of events being ticketed and some by donation and some free.”

For complete details visit the festival website. 

Images of the 2009 Wakefest offerings

Jesse Buck (now with Cirque du Soleil) in Bupkus

Nick Di Gaetano of MiCasa Theatre

Remesha drums and dance group at the Grannies Concert