Some history of the
SALMON ARM ROOTS AND BLUES FESTIVAL
After her 20 years of community building in the Salmon Arm area,
the city of Salmon Arm has turned it's back on Linda Tanaka.
For the past 20 years Linda Tanaka and her many volunteers, have been building the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival into the Great Event it is today.
From small beginnings in Glen Eden, to the new unfinished Salmon Arm arena, to the big Outdoor Event it is today; Linda was always there, tending to every little detail.
From duct-taping water bottles on dangerous fence posts to picking up some litter as she passed by, she was always making it better. Cutting corners to save a bit here and there "So that ONE more Act could be brought in" was Linda's style.
Many of us have volunteered year after year, with heart and soul, to support Linda's vision and her festival, to make it the best that it could be.
The Festival now brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Salmon Arm area each summer, and has become the Pride of the British Columbia Interior.
It is renouned for it's excellent programming and variety of musical acts, and pleases children and adults alike.
I have always loved the Roots and Blues Festival for the commeradery of so many people coming together voluntarily to help make it better each year.
Along with success , come people who hunger for that success and the notoriety and prestige it can bring to them.
Now that the Roots and Blues Festival is well established, and beginning to show a profit, the Board of Directors of the SAFMS has seen fit to oust Linda Tanaka, and assume control.
The process of Firing Linda was done, with no tact or respect for her or
her Life's Work... the Roots and Blues Festival.
Linda Tanaka and her Family have been embarrassed by the Board of Directors of the SAFMS, before their friends and thier peers in Salmon Arm, and in the Music Community at home and around the World. They have been forced to leave the town they loved, and helped to build, over the past 20 years.
Unfortunately, the spirit from which the festival sprang has been removed.
That spirit which involved itself in every aspect of the Roots and Blues Festival; to get it done and get it done right!
That spirit was Linda Tanaka's, and yet, year after year, when the Festival's final act ended, she had to be pushed to the front of the crowd to be recognized, and she never said anything but "Thank You for attending the festival" while at the front.
Now we have Big Screens, more Beer Gardens, Heavier Security and Very Important Person tents blocking off the stage view.
With more Liquor, more Party-ers and Heavy-er Security, the Family aspect is already starting to take a back seat.
For the Roots and Blues Festival, the Roots is starting to give way to the Blues.
Some interesting questions to ponder might be......
Where else will these board member's names appear in the future?
What other positions of power and prestige are worthy of their hungry gaze?
Is there an up-coming Mayorship or Bank Trustee position in thier future?
I'm sure we haven't heard the last of THESE PEOPLE. Keep an eye on the local news.
It is said that "The Cream always rises to the top".
In this case I'm afraid it's Sour Cream.
