Innis Lake , Caledon
Where was Mariposa Folk Festival located from 1965 to 1967?
Mariposa Folk Festival Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia , Ontario . It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers . After being held in various places in Ontario for a few decades , it returned to Orillia in 2000 . Ruth Jones , her husband Dr . Crawford Jones , brother David Major and Pete McGarvey organized the first Mariposa Folk Festival in August 1961 . The inaugural event , covered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , featured all Canadian performers . The festival grew in popularity , size and rowdiness until the popularity of the 1963 festival ( with over 8,000 advance tickets sold ) , and the lack of sufficient security , led to a backlash from town locals . The city of Orillia secured a court injunction to prevent the festival from continuing in the town limits . The first festival held in the Toronto area , in 1964 , was at Maple Leaf Stadium . The subsequent three festivals were held at Innis Lake in Caledon , northwest of the city . In the 1970s it was held on the Toronto Islands before shifting to Harbourfront ( Toronto ) and Bathurst Street and later Molson Park in Barrie . In 2000 , the Mariposa Folk Festival was invited back to Orillia by city councilors Tim Lauer and Don Evans . The festival continues to be held in Orillia . As well as folk music , the festival highlights other aspects of folk culture including dance , crafts , storytelling . Festival timeline . The Mariposa Folk Festival has been held in these Ontario locations with these artistic directors : - 1961 – 64 , Oval Park , Orillia - 1964 , Maple Leaf Stadium , Toronto - 1965 – 67 , Innis Lake , Caledon - 1968 – 79 , Centre Island , Toronto - 1980 – 81 , no festival - 1982 , Harbourfront , Toronto - 1983 , small event at Cristie Pits park , Toronto - 1984 – 91 , Molson Park , Barrie - 1992 – Ontario Place , Toronto - 1993 – 1995 , Olympic Island & Downtown , Toronto - 1996 , Annie Williams Park , Bracebridge , and Victoria Park , Cobourg - 1997 , Annie Williams Park , Bracebridge - 1998 - Bracebridge - 1999 , Parkdale , Toronto - 2000 – present , Tudhope Park , Orillia Artistic directors : - 1961 - 64 , Ted Schaefer - 1964 – 77 , Estelle Klein - 1978 , Ken Whiteley - 1979 , Estelle Klein - 1982 , Tim Harrison - 1984 , Michael Cooney - 1985 , Ian Bell - 1986 , Rick Bauer - 1987 – 88 , Drago Maleiner - 1989 - 92 , Richard Flohil - 1993 - 94 , David Warren - 1995 , Jeff Cohen - 1996 , Artistic Committee : David Warren , Dianne Myers , Karen Carlson-Oriotis , Randi Fratkin - 1997 , Neil Hutchinson - 2000 - 2006 , Randi Fratkin - 2006 - 2017 , Mike Hill - 2017 - Present , Liz Scott In addition , over the years there have been some alternative concerts and festivals , splinter groups , sub-festivals , and spin-offs , such as Mariposa-in-the-City in Toronto in 2000 . Early years . The idea for the Mariposa Folk Festival was created by Ruth McVeigh and her husband Dr . Casey Jones , after hearing a presentation by John Fisher . The name for the festival was borrowed from Stephen Leacocks Book Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town , which was inspired by the town of Orillia . Mariposa Folk Festival was held for the first time in 1961 . In 1964 the festival moved unexpectedly to Toronto . Backlash from Orillia and Medonte township community members prevented the festival from continuing in its original location . Due to these circumstances as well as inclement weather , many people who had bought tickets to the festival did not attend . In 1966 the festivals format changed , under the direction of Estelle Klein . It became more workshop-based and featured multiple stages so that different performances could occur simultaneously . 1968 was the first year that the festival started on a Friday night . It was advertised with a focus on workshops rather than on headlining acts . In 1969 CBC filmed throughout the weekend of the festival , and created a documentary entitled “Mariposa : A Folk Festival” , which aired on September 28 , 1969 . 1970s . In 1970 the Native People area at the festival was expanded , and was a success with festival visitors . This year also featured workshops investigating instrumental styles , music of specific regions and song exchanges . In 1971 there were no evening concerts or main stage performances . The festival was fully focused on workshops and small stage performances in order to promote smaller acts as well as already well known performers . The 1972 festival experienced heavy rainfall , but that did not affect festival attendance . Some well known musicians came to watch the festival including Joni Mitchell , Neil Young , Gordon Lightfoot , Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne and some of them were interested in performing . The festival organizers were unsure if they should include these performers because the festival was no longer focused on big name acts . Ultimately , Murry McLauchlan offered Joni Mitchell part of his performance time . Bruce Cockburn did the same for Neil Young . The 1973 festival featured musicians from around the world including Bai Konte from West Africa , Martin Carthy from England , Ardoin Family from Louisiana in the United States and the Boys of the Lough from Ulster and North England . 1975 was International Womens year , so the festival added many more female performers . In 1976 the festival received a government grant so that they could include a special group of Indigenous performers from the prairies . In 1977 the festival focused on the origins of North American folk music . The large variety of music was represented under four themes : black , Spanish , francophone and English . The 1979 festival featured a special pavilion of Labrador craftspeople , musicians and storytellers . It also increased its folk music activities for children . 50th anniversary . In 2010 , Mariposa celebrated its 50th festival by fielding a lineup of classic Mariposa artists and young developing talent . Gordon Lightfoot , Murray McLauchlan , Ian and Sylvia , and The Whiteley Brothers took the main stage on the festivals final day . Three new performers passed an audition to perform via the up and coming showcase program . The 2010 edition also featured Jason Collett and Serena Ryder , who headlined the mainstage on Friday and Saturday respectively . To mark the 50th anniversary of the festival , York Universitys Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections launched an online exhibit highlighting a selection of archival material from the 1960s and 1970s . York acquired the Mariposa Folk Fest archives , which includes sound recordings and publicity documents , in 2007 . Notable performers . - Jackson Browne - Bruce Cockburn - Leonard Cohen - Bob Dylan - Edith Fowke - Gordon Lightfoot - Joni Mitchell - Alanis Obomsawin - Buffy Saint-Marie - Neil Young - John Prine Mariposa in the Schools . In the mid-1970s the Mariposa Folk Festival began featuring childrens concerts and musical workshops . In addition to this , the year round program Mariposa in the Schools was created in order to bring folk musicians to local Ontario schools for musical programming . The Mariposa in the Schools program ended in 2018 . However , the Festival continues to have childrens programming on the festival weekend in their Folkplay area . Publications . In 1977 , editors Bill Usher and Linda Page-Harpa published an anthology in celebration of the festival titled For what time I am in this world : stories from Mariposa . In 2013 , Sija Tsai published a doctoral thesis on the history of the festival , titled Mariposa Folk Festival : The Sounds , Sights , and Costs of a Fifty-Year Road Trip . In 2017 , Michael Hill , the artistic director and the vice-president of Mariposa , and an organizer with the festival since 2000 , published a book on the festival . External links . - Mariposa 75 moving images - Toronto Star article , 1987 - Mariposa Folk Foundation archives , Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections , York University Libraries , Toronto , Ontario