Spring is finally here and that means that the Creston Valley Blossom Festival is just around the corner. A hard-working, dedicated group of volunteers has been busy since late last fall making preparations for the biggest annual get together celebration of the year which kicks off May 18 and runs right through the Victoria Day weekend until May 21.
The Blossom Fest, as it has become known, begins with a stage show featuring local talent and a headliner that only an event like the festival can bring in. It is also the night when the citizen of the year is chosen by the Creston Rotary clubs.
Headlining the stage show is multi-talented singer, songwriter, guitarist and comedian Wendell Ferguson. If the name sounds familiar, he headlined the same show in 2009. The Ontario-based country and western entertainer who frequently appears on CMT has a resume much like a who’s-who of show business. A busy session musician in the music studios in Toronto, he has worked and recorded with Gordon Lightfoot, Jane Siberry, James Keelaghan, the Arrogant Worms, Duane Steele and Katherine Wheatley.
Ferguson has spent a lot of time on the road touring with the likes of Sylvia Tyson, Caitlin Hanford, Cindy Church, Tommy Hunter, Lisa Brokop, Patty Loveless, Shania Twain, George Fox and the Dixie Chicks to name a few.
Awards for Ferguson include two Juno nominations; The $#!T Hits the Fans was nominated for album of the year in 2006. He did win the Canadian Country Music Association guitar player of the year six times before they told him it was time to let somebody else win. He is one of the best, if not the best, guitar pickers in Canada.
Tickets for the stage show will go on sale this weekend at the Home and Garden Show. Local outlets Black Bear Books and the Creston Valley Chamber of Commerce office will also have tickets.
— BY HUGH JOHNSTON