A time of transition: Campbell Bay Music Festival / Old Hat ARTS
After co-creating the festival since 2009, founding leaders of the Campbell Bay Music Festival Meg and Adam Iredale-Gray are stepping in new directions and leaving space for something new to bloom with Old Hat Arts on SḴŦAḴ / Mayne Island.
Adam and Meg started Campbell Bay Music Festival as very young people to create a space for progressive music, and it grew into something with community connection at its heart. There is a wide web of people across the country who have contributed to the creation and development of this festival. So much help, so much art, so much collective effort has gone into opening this space to the world and we are grateful for the memories that this work has curated for so many.
16 years of CBMF feels like a remarkable achievement. Campbell Bay Music Festival is excited to witness the continuation of these values with Old Hat Arts at the helm, and to see the continued strengthening and broadening of the circle of creators and organizers on SḴŦAḴ / Mayne Island.
With Campbell Bay Music Festival saying goodbye, Old Hat Arts is stepping in to take up the mantle. Old Hat Arts is Mayne Islanders Sandra Henderson and Andrew Pye. Sandra and Andrew met on a touring theatre project in 2017 in Toronto, and haven’t stopped collaborating since. From international productions in Hong Kong to rural events in their new island home on Mayne, this duo (now with two children and twenty-two chickens) has the unstoppable momentum of makers with over 30 years of arts production in their collective hats.
Old Hat is about eating together, dancing, puppets, installations, performances and big bonfires. It’s about marking the wheel of the year and sharing an experience in time and space. Sandra and Andrew are thrilled to bring this energy to the organization and the 2026 festival.
June 20-21, 2026 will see the inaugural Longest Day Festival, presented by Old Hat Arts and hosted at The 44, an emerging music and arts space on Mayne. The summer solstice is a potent time of year, marked on this island by abundance: of daylight, in our gardens, in visitors seeking togetherness, of potential. The Longest Day holds the legacy of Campbell Bay while bringing new energy and new art forms to the stage and to the woods. Mark your calendars to join Old Hat at the 44 for The Longest Day, a weekend of being together and celebrating into summer’s latest evening with food, music, arts and revelry.
Want to know more about what’s next, or find ways to participate?
Visit thelongestday.ca
Reach out to info@oldhatarts.ca
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