A crowd gathers in front of a Southeast Hill residence during last year's PorchFest.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The official lineup for PorchFest 2024 has dropped, and all is set for an afternoon of connecting local music to a local audience.
This year marks the fourth PorchFest, and co-founder Rob Pape says it remains what he describes as his “pride and joy.”
“We’ve taken an opportunity to connect the community with artists,” said Pape. “And to make them accessible to everyone.”
This year marks the lowest number of porches with 11, said Pape, due to some issues with the ongoing construction on the Southeast Hill, but the enthusiasm is strong from homes looking to host and local artists looking to perform.
The event is supported and helped put on by the City of Medicine Hat and the Community Vibrancy Grant, which helps facilitate the event.
“What we do is we take a number of musicians and bands and we place them on the front porch of people’s homes, playing to the street,” said Pape. “It’s a free event where the community can walk from house to house, checking out local musicians and music and getting to connect with these artists like they may not get to in other scenarios.”
There is a different performance starting every half hour in various houses in the area, allowing attendees to drive or walk to each location and see every performance if they desire. For those not looking to catch every show, Pape recommends taking the time to research the list and find out who can’t be missed.
“We have a schedule and a digital map on the Facebook page,” said Pape. “The nice thing about when people are left to their own ability to go look up these artists, you’re actually helping these artists. You’re increasing their algorithm by searching them out and googling their names.”
PorchFest runs Aug. 31, with the first performance at noon and the finale starting at 5:30 p.m. A full list of artists and addresses can be found on the PorchFest FaceBook.
There will be an option to donate at each performance, with proceeds evenly split among the artists.
