The bill is set for Kingfest

Kingfest Executive Director Nancy Bodi and Chair Patrick Gossage welcomed the audience to last week's event.

A full weekend of great entertainment is set for June 22, 23 and 24 at the King campus of Seneca College.

The 2007 edition of Kingfest Music Festival is set to go, and organizers are very enthused with what's in the works.

Famed singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn will be among those headlining the festival, along with Prairie Oyster, local guitarist and composer Dr. Joel Krivy and a host of others, including Sarah Harmer, Jim Cuddy, Oh Susanna, Justin Rutledge and DALA.

The whole event promises to be "magnificent, spirited and community minded," Kingfest Executive Director Nancy Bodi declared at a pre-event reception at Eaton Hall on the Seneca campus last Tuesday evening.

She added there will be more than 35 artists performing on four stages throughout the festival. Patrons will be able to shuttle from stage to stage all day.

There will be a main stage, another in the beer tent and two workshop stages. That means there will be lots for people to do, including checking out the artisan and crafter's village, children's play area, as well as the various food and beverage amenities.

Habitat for Humanity is going to be a major beneficiary of Kingfest, and dignitaries attending last week's reception acknowledged that with some ceremonial hammering of nails. Mayor Margaret Black was among those doing the hammering.

It will be magnificent because of the setting, Bodi said.

It will be spirited because this has been the result of a lot of work from a volunteer core. she recalled that it all started in 2004 with a casual discussion in the basement at All Saints' Anglican Church. "It's been an unbelievable journey," she declared.

It will be community minded because proceeds from the festival will be going to Habitat for Humanity, a national, nonprofit, faith-based organization working for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live, and with the mission to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing

Kingfest

and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Bodi added the festival is going to benefit the King community, both socially and economically.

John Volpe, president of the York Region chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said the organization now operates in more than 100 countries. But he added this festival is helping to build a community locally to deal with an "awful blight that shouldn't exist in our country."

The vision of Kingfest is "to connect people through music and make a positive contribution to their quality of life."

The mission is "to create an unparalleled music experience for the family and individuals of all ages living in the GTA."

The Friday night (June 22) will be specifically targeting an under-30 crowd. The acts on the bill include the popular East Coast rockers Sloan, the Trews and the Joel Plaskett Emergency. The Salads, from Newmarket, are to open the show.

Others on tap to appear over the weekend include Kieran Kane and Lucas Kane, Mike Stevens and Raymond McLain, Lynn Mills, Susan Werner, Wendell Ferguson, Katherine Wheatley, Pat Robitaille, Nancy Dutra, Madagascar Slim, Ndidi Onukwulu, Ariana Gillis, James McKenty and The Spades, Lou Moore, Jon Brooks, Glen Marais, Grainne Ryan, Poor Tom, Rick Robichaud, Jack D, Turn off The Stars and Dani Strong.

The children's entertainers will include Al Simmons and Sho Mo and the Monkey Bunch.