By Miranda Louwerse (Contributor) – Email
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Photos By: Mitch Huttema
Live music and craft beer are what summer is all about, and the folks at Field House Brewing Co know that more than anyone.
In the last weekend of June, the brewery hosted the first ever Field Days Festival as part of The Backyard Concert Series.
Brothers Adam and Levi Klassen, who started the Backyard Concert Series last year, said that the purpose of hosting the festival is for people to get out and support local artists in Abbotsford.
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“We had been to a lot of concerts in Vancouver and house shows, and then didn’t see a lot of that happening in the Valley and decided that we wanted to do something to change that,” said Levi Klassen. “So we started hosting concerts and concert series in my backyard last year.”
They originally planned three concerts last year but added a fourth due to its success. Another three have been planned for this year in addition to the Field Days Festival.
“A lot of people are trying to create really cool community events and things like that and we just want to be a part of that group that are making things happen in Abbotsford,” Adam Klassen said.
The festival stage was set up at the bottom of Field House “beer lawn.” Wooden chairs and benches provided a place to sit. Overall, the effect was a surreal forest clearing kind of setting.
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The parking lot extended the festival feel, with food trucks serving German pizza, tacos, ice cream, and Oldhand coffee. An attempt was made to make the event more family friendly with a ping pong table and bean bag toss set up for children while the adults could sit and drink the Field House brew.
The two day festival featured many local artists from B.C., such as Kin, Silvia Platters, Teen Daze, Alexandria Maillot, and Jordan Klassen. Teen Daze played a low key set, beginning by saying that he wanted everyone to relax, drink some beer, and connect with the people around them. Alexandria Maillot’s music felt as though it was made for the forest-like setting.
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The event felt like quintessential summer. The sun was shining and at one point, campfire smoke blew through the space.
Abbotsford-born Jordan Klassen closed the show on Saturday with music from his latest album Javelin as the sun set. Klassen expressed gratitude that events like Field Days were happening in Abbotsford, saying the city was lame when he moved to Vancouver several years ago.
However, the event felt somewhat withdrawn and separated from the full Abbotsford community. Cars driving by were clearly confused as to what was happening and there were some noise complaints earlier in the day.
The event targeted a specific audience and it felt like everyone already knew each other. Nevertheless, Field Days served the purpose of being a great precursor to Jam in Jubilee, a concert series held in Jubilee Park in Abbotsford this August.
“It ended up being a beautiful day and it’s been a really great vibe and community,” Adam Klassen said. “Everyone’s just hanging out and having a great time.”
With files from Sonja Klotz
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