Hundreds of people were tapping their feet and clapping their hands to the music in Victoria Park. Music fans brought their own chairs and parked them in front of the stages for the 50th edition of the Home County Music and Art Festival (HCMAF). “It’s free for a start,” said Kevin Bice, when asked what he loved about HCMAF. “There is lots of people sitting in the grass having a good time and there are all kinds of music.” “There are wonderful crafts and the food is great,” chimed in his wife Daphne. Musicians from across the country took the stage over the two-day festival. “Kelowna is the city of gastronomy and London is the UNESCO City of Music, so they just thought let’s send an artist over from Kelowna to represent,” said country artist Jonathan Williams. “It’s great because we can actually perform, get off the stage, greet people, take pictures and stuff. The spirit and the vibe here is beautiful.” After a hiatus in 2024 due to financial pressures and volunteer shortages, the event returned in 2025 with a one-day show. It continues to trend upward as it’s back to a multi-day festival. “The outpouring of support from the community was just honestly inspiring,” said Ferrall Tremblay, artistic director of HCMAF. “It really motivated us to just keep going and celebrate this 50th anniversary. It’s meaningful to a lot of people here that we’ve been talking to and they are just happy that we’re back.” Those fans showed up. Many of them looking to take in the set by Canadian folk legend Valdy. “What I love about this is, you are always running into friends and it’s a great sense of community,” said festival regular Jim Cressman. The opening act Saturday took the show back to it’s roots as a folk festival with father-son duo Paul and Trevor Mills on stage. “I go back to the beginning of this festival,” said Paul, a London Music Hall of Fame inductee. “I played a number of them over the years, and I was at the very first one and I think I was at just about every one. It’s an important part of my life here in London.” His son Trevor, who plays alongside him was born in Toronto. “Dad’s been a folkie forever and I grew up in all that,” said Trevor. “We’ve been playing together my whole life for sure and t’s great to see it (HCMAF) back.” Now that the HCMAF looks stable, the future looks positive. “We’ll take it year by year,” said Tremblay. “We want to take it slow and just be mindful of sustainable growth. But things are looking up.”
