Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon
Renfrew’s music festival will likely be uprooted thanks to the interest of another potential host.
Town Council recently approved the transfer of the intellectual property rights for the Renfrew Roots Music Festival to Calabogie Motorsports Park as the venue looks to add more events that can be tied to the Province of Ontario’s Experience Ontario grant, according to Programs Supervisor Janyne Fraser.
Renfrew Reeve and County Warden Peter Emon helped set up a meeting between the two sides earlier in December after Calabogie Motorsports Park had expressed interest in finding an established event that they could reportedly rebrand as the “Guitars and Gasoline Music Festival.”
He says the deal and the reasoning behind it are not uncommon, and the province is generally on board providing the grant money for events that have exchanged hands.
Emon adds that the Park is angling to use its connections and clientele to turn the troubled festival into “a regionally significant festival for Renfrew County.”
The town did not have plans to host Renfrew Roots again after it posted a notable loss in 2023.
(written by Kasey Egan)