For the past four decades, the Victoria Folk Music Society has stuck firmly to its original mandate: Raise the profile of folk music in Victoria.
The volunteer-run society has done so by hosting touring folk musicians in concert every Sunday, for which the ticket price is always the low-dough price of $5. Not surprisingly, at each of those concerts a little bit of magic comes pouring out. 鈥淲eek after week, performers who are touring come and play a set for us,鈥� said Carol Aileen, who has been a听member of the society for 27听years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very personal. It just makes you feel good all over every Sunday night.鈥�
Aileen, who has been the society鈥檚 president since 2010, is one of a core group of organizers who keep the registered non-profit up, running and in the black. And what a remarkable journey it has been for the membership, which hovers around 100 annually. 鈥淭here is nowhere quite like us,鈥� Aileen said.
Next week, the society will stage yet another Sunday concert, this one slightly more meaningful than the rest. In Honour of the Founders: A Panel Concert will celebrate the society鈥檚 40th anniversary while also paying tribute to those individuals who steered the society from past to present. Like always, the bash will be held at Norway House, a former one-room school situated on Hillside Avenue between the streets of Quadra and Cook.
The society first rented the 148-seat building, which is owned and operated by the members of Eidsvold Lodge, home to the Victoria chapter of the Sons of Norway, in 1975. The Victoria Folklore Society 鈥� as it was known then 鈥� had outgrown the living rooms and kitchens of its members, so an executive decision was made to find a bigger hall for functions.
One of the first Victoria Folklore Society concerts at Norway House featured U.S. folk singer Utah Phillips, a coup considering he鈥檇 been written up in Rolling Stone magazine a few years earlier. Tickets for the Phillips concert were $2. Coffee, tea, and cookies were priced at 10 cents. The next day, to celebrate the show鈥檚 success, the members held an outdoor picnic.
Denis Donnelly was the first to suggest Norway House as a possible venue. Open Space had been used at points, in addition to various other venues. Nothing could match Norway House. 鈥淚t seemed like the right place,鈥� Donnelly recalled. 鈥淚 thought it would be a good place for a concert.鈥�
Donnelly spent the early part of the 鈥�70s teaching guitar at the Victoria Folklore Centre, a music store that sold and repaired instruments, primarily guitars. The shop 鈥� opened in 1970 by Dave and Marjorie Cahill, both passionate music supporters 鈥� had become something of a gathering place for folk-music fans in the city. With the store as a hub, the seeds of what would become the Victoria Folk Music Society were planted.
鈥淢any of us were attending folk song circles, which were held in the studio of a classical guitar teacher on Vancouver Street,鈥� Dave Cahill said. 鈥淚t was very informal, but the consensus amongst quite of a few of us was to broaden the horizons of the things we were doing. After informal meetings at several different peoples鈥� homes, it was decided to start up a folk-music society.鈥�
Cahill, who renamed the Victoria Folklore Centre as Old Town Strings in 1987, a store he still owns and operates, would eventually drop out due to the hectic pace of his business. But others picked up the idea and ran with it.
The society was formed while Donnelly was living away from Victoria, but he returned in 1976 to find the folk scene in Victoria flourishing. He was president of the society for a while and has performed off-and-on at Norway House in the years since, mostly at the open-mike portion that precedes each Sunday concert.
The magic of those early years was something to behold, Donnelly said. 鈥淭he society was formed at a time when the Bob Dylans and the Peter, Paul, and Marys and the Ian and Sylvias were still ripe and resonant in the air.鈥�
For a time in the mid-鈥�80s, however, the society 鈥� as with folk music in general 鈥� struggled, he said. 鈥淚 remember sitting around in the back room of the folk club thinking: 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 worth it. We should just close it down.鈥� 鈥�
They didn鈥檛, and for good reason. Despite the occasional thin crowd, the society operates with a break-even budget, Aileen said. It stays manageable by being completely volunteer-run, its primary income coming from the $65 per-person annual membership fee. Monthly business meetings help steer the direction of the society, to ensure the rent gets paid.
鈥淲e鈥檝e often attributed our longevity and success to knowing what it is we do and do well,鈥� Aileen said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have visions of getting bigger and we certainly have hopes that we are sustainable. We operate on that model. It鈥檚 the love of the music that brings us all together, but it鈥檚 also a real appreciation of community.鈥�
Touring artists that play the Sunday shows are paid modestly, though well enough to cover all travel expenses and performance fees. The $5 admission is fair and therefore firm, according to Aileen.
鈥淪ometimes there鈥檚 pressure to raise it. We鈥檝e had a few professional players that we wanted to book as a feature, and we were willing to pay the fee that they wanted, but it was refused because we were only charging $5 at the door. Part of what we are really determined to do is make sure that it is accessible. If we can get by charging $5 at the door, then that鈥檚 what we charge.鈥�
The concert on April 19 will feature many of the founders, and those who cannot be there in person will appear via video. Every music fan, volunteer and paid member has played a role in the Victoria Folk Music Society鈥檚 success over the decades, and Aileen and her fellow executive directors 鈥� titles that 鈥渄on鈥檛 really fit right,鈥� she admitted 鈥� want nothing more than to thank them in person next week.
鈥淲e refer to ourselves as an adhocracy. Everything is done by consensus, by whomever wants to be involved in the decision-making.鈥�
The Victoria Folk Music Society and its membership has lent its support to various folk-related causes over the years. They helped the FolkWest festival get off the ground initially, and pledges its support to the annual Islands Folk Festival in Duncan. Folk programming at University of Victoria radio station CFUV and co-productions with the Deep Cove Folk Music Society and Sooke Folk Music Society are other ongoing projects.
Aileen does have one concern, however. The success of the society going forward depends upon new members coming to the table. Once the original crew is gone, she hopes a new generation will be there to continue the tradition. 鈥淔olk clubs, we鈥檙e a distinctly greying membership. But there are lots of young people who come to play, and we鈥檙e hopeful that before we can no longer do all the work, those young people will take over the job of keeping it going.鈥�
听
The Victoria Folk Music Society will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a concert on April 19. In Honour of the Founders: A Panel Concert will be held at Norway House (1110 Hillside Ave.) and hosted by one of the听society鈥檚 founders, Denis Donnelly. Admission is $5 at the door. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
