Dooryard organizers expecting increased variety in 4th annual festival

Organizers of Woodstock's Dooryard Arts Festival are anticipating a larger variety of talent at this year's event.

The 4^th Annual Dooryard Arts Festival, scheduled for August 8^th to 11^th, is looking like it will attract artists from across the continent.

Geoff Stairs, president of the River Valley Arts Alliance (RiVA), which oversees the festival, credits word of mouth to the growth the Dooryard Arts Festival has seen since it began in 2009.

“We've never spent a lot on advertising relative to bigger festivals, Stairs explained. “What we've really been happy to see is the organic way that word about the festival has spread throughout the Maritimes.”

Stairs, a founding member of RiVA and co-founder of the Dooryard Arts Festival, added that greater visibility has helped festival organizers appeal to artists abroad, but says the emphasis is still on local artists as well.

“We're still focused on exposing local talent, but now we have a great opportunity to expose our community to some of the things happening outside.”

The inaugural Dooryard Arts Festival was held in 2009 in downtown Woodstock.

Matt Andersen, a Perth-Andover native, is expected to return for the festival's fourth season. Other performers include Rose Cousins, a Boston-based folk musician, along with Cadence Weapon, a hip hop artist from Edmonton, Derrick Paul Miller, a tenor singer born in Fredericton, and Julie Doiron, a New Brunswick alt-music scene matriarch.

According to Stairs, no particular style or genre is given any special preference in the festival's organization process.

“We try very hard to make Dooryard inclusive,” Stairs noted. “We want there to be something for almost everyone.”

“Our only criterion is quality, and there's no shortage of that.”

The Dooryard Arts Festival also plays host to a diverse amount of visual displays. From the beginning, local businesses have generously allowed the use of their stores as temporary, walk-through art galleries. Venues vary by year, enhancing Dooryard's atmosphere in Woodstock's downtown.

Visual artists displaying their work in the 2012 Dooryard Arts Festival include comic book artist Adam Atherton, painters Donna Smallenberg and Mallory Driscoll, photographer Joel Culligan, and mixed-media artist and ArtsLink NB executive director Sara Griffin.

Returning events in 2012 include a series of public workshops directed by talented artists, along with the popular Queen Street Marketplace, which takes place on the Saturday of the festival. It features local artists, craftspeople, growers, and other merchants and organizations showcasing their work and products along Queen Street in the historic downtown core.

New Brunswick NDP leader Dominic Cardy, left, is seen here making a purchase at George Peabody's organic herbs booth at the Queen Street Marketplace of last year's Dooryard Arts Festival.

There are $65 early bird festival passes on sale now. There are a limited number of these passes being sold, and they can be purchased by visiting Ticketpro.ca . The passes allow access to all ticketed events during the festival, a value of approximately $120. When the early bird passes are gone, regular passes will be available for $80.

Visit www.dooryardarts.net for more information.