The second annual Her Northern Voice Music Festival drew a crowd to the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre on Saturday, capping off a week of events and performances highlighting the achievements of local women artists.
Hosted by Sudbury Performance Group (SPG), Her Northern Voice featured female artists from across Canada for the five-day event, which ran Aug. 9-13. The festival organizers worked to ensure representation from performers in the English, Francophone, Black, Indigenous, Queer and South American communities.
Asked why SPG created the festival, Juanita Skruibis, a member of the organizing committee and the emcee in Bell Park on Saturday, had a simple answer.
“Why not?” she said. “Women do amazing things — they’re artists, caregivers, they have jobs, they give back. We wanted to showcase strong women.”
Another volunteer organizer, Chanda Grylls-Mahaffy, said it is also important for young people, particularly, young women, to see that there is value in the arts and that pursuing the arts is a valid career choice.
She added that while the festival might be called Her Northern Voice and be focused on women artists, ultimately the message of the festival is one of diversity.
“While the event highlights female lead vocalists, what I see is a collaboration of women and men working together in the arts and music industry. Instead of this being an exclusive event about women, it is an inclusive event,” she said.
One of those young people is Grylls-Mahaffy’s 18-year-old daughter, Kalem Mahaffy, who is a performer with SPG and a volunteer for Her Northern Voice.
“I just wanted to do more for my community. It’s mostly adults (organizing events) … I wanted to be in there making decisions, too,” Mahaffy, who is pursuing the arts in post-secondary in the fall, said. And the artists showcase during the event “lead by example,” she added, “which gives young women the idea that we could make a living performing.”
Tara Hawkes, another member of the organizing committee, said for her, the festival is really about amplifying and showcasing female artists in the community.
“There are a lot of male-driven bands. Female bands do exist but they don’t always get the recognition and women sometimes have to fight harder to be recognized,” she said.
That sentiment rings true for Mark Mannisto, the president of SPG. He said he got the idea for a women-driven festival from something Naked Soul singer Dee Bela said to him during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, SPG was livestreaming musical performances from the Coulson with local artists.
“Dee pointed out there weren’t a lot of women artists being streamed,” Mannisto said. “She was right and that stuck with me.”
With the spotlight more often than not focusing on male artists, the idea for a festival that turned that spotlight the other way was born.
“We just want to show the community what women (artists) have to offer,” he said.
The music festival kicked off with a concert by Monochrome at the Hilton Garden Inn, followed by Ashley Woodruff at the Trevi Bar & Grill, and Patricia Watson at the Hilton Garden Inn on Aug. 10. Decades performed Friday evening at the Hilton Garden Inn, and Saturday, SPG welcomed the community to join them again at Grace Hartman Amphitheatre.
In Bell Park, performances were held throughout the day until 7 p.m. from the likes of Chanelle Albert & the Easy Company, Viv and Leo, and Naked Soul, to name a few. Several food and artisan vendors were on hand. Saturday culminated with a performance by Juno winner Susan Aglukark on Saturday night. Sunday saw a full afternoon of performances at Finn MacCool’s.
Besides fun and entertainment, the festival also supported local charities that provide essential services to women across Northern Ontario. This year, they partnered with YWCA Sudbury to let the community know they are there to help.
Her Northern Voice received support from the Heritage Centre, the City of Greater Sudbury, Delta Bingo and Sudbury.com.
Mark Gentili is the editor of Sudbury.com.
