Capital Hoedown to relaunch after 2012 cancellation
Three years after the cancellation of Capital Hoedown, the organizer said the country music festival will "pick up where we left off" to bring it back to the Ottawa area by 2016.
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"There is a major void in the market that we’re looking to fill," said Denis Benoit, the president and CEO of Capital Hoedown.
"We're looking at all options. If we can get things together as quickly as we like, you might see it this summer. But if not, you'll definitely see it in 2016."
The August 2012 edition of the three-day festival was cancelled for various reasons, including withholding a payment to the City of Ottawa over a dispute involving an increase in city service fees.
Efforts to relocate the festival to a ranch on Fallowfield Road were turned down over a zoning issue. The event, which was scheduled to include high-profile performers like Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Terri Clark and Sheryl Crow, was eventually cancelled.
Benoit said "the two successful editions of Capital Hoedown in 2010 and 2011 substantiate" his plan to relaunch the festival.
He wanted to revive it sooner but said he waited "until all legal matters were dealt with and resolved with regards to the cancellation."
No details have been released about the possible lineup for the next Hoedown, but Benoit said the festival will take place on a 400-acre site within 20 kilometres of the City of Ottawa. On-site camping will be available for the duration of the festival, he added.
"I can get any artist in the world. So, that's definitely not going to be a problem. And, our lineup will be bigger than any other lineup across any other country music festival in the country," he said.
'All our ducks are in a row'
Benoit sent out a survey to previous concert-goers to gauge interest on Tuesday, and has already received more than 2,000 "overwhelmingly positive" responses, he said.
"I’m blown away with the interest," he said. "Some people are giving us advice, you know, 'You better get it right this time,' you know, 'Ottawa needs this.'"
Benoit said the survey is more than a opportunity to receive feedback — it also gives him a chance to respond back should anyone have concerns.
"What I can tell people and assure people is that whenever we announce the festival’s return, when we announce the venue, when we announce the entertainment lineup and put tickets on sale — we have been working for years to make sure all of our ducks are in a row, and that nothing like what happened in the past can happen again," he said.
"We realize how frustrating the cancellation in 2012 must have been for them because it was completely devastating to me personally as the founder of the festival."
Benoit said he has worked as a promoter for more than 12 years.
"One isolated incident, you know, doesn't ruin my reputation within the industry," he said.
Media one of 'biggest problems' in 2012: Benoit
When asked what went wrong in 2012 Benoit told CBC News on Wednesday:
“One of the biggest problems was the media. I don’t know where the media was getting their information from but 99 per cent of it was completely inaccurate. And whenever I was contacted by several media, members of the media to, you know, disclose my side of the story, I was basically met with skepticism, and or a twisting of words with that specific reporter to convey a different message that I was actually trying to get out there. That’s why at one point I completely blacklisted the media because it didn’t matter what I said. That would never be published. And I still scratch my head because I don’t know where 99 per cent of this information came from. Regarding artists dropping out and financial issues and the fact that we defaulted on a payment to the City of Ottawa. All of these things were untrue.”
Clarification : On Thursday, Benoit said the August 2012 edition of the Capital Hoedown was cancelled for various reasons; including withholding a payment to the City of Ottawa over a dispute involving an increase in city service fees.(Mar 05, 2015 12:49 PM)
