A band plays at Country at the Creek. (Bill Borgwardt Photo)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

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May 15, 2024 | 1:33 PM

Marc Butler is “pretty excited.”

His Dog Patch Music Festival has been nominated in the Best Music Festival Category in the 2024 Saskatchewan Country Music Association (SCMAs).

He said the journey to this moment goes back decades.

“I did it based on something my parents did in the early ’80s,” he said. “They used to have what they call – they’d call it the Dog Patch Pig Roast so, and it was just to kind of celebrate harvest.”

He said the family used to have a ranch and when everything was done, they would throw a party, which brought a couple hundred people and included a DJ.

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“I noticed through the years as I grew up, there was less and less of that stuff,” he said of growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s when people came together for everything.

In 2013, he resurrected the pig roast and merged it with his love of music festivals. The following year, the festival began with nothing.

“Now we’ve got full infrastructure,” said Butler.

For Jeanette Wicinski to have her Country at the Creek nominated in the same category and winning twice before, the experience “doesn’t get old.”

“The festival really is very much based on Saskatchewan artists,” she said. “That’s one thing that we sort of pride ourselves on and that maybe sets us apart a little bit.”

The nominees were announced earlier this month, and this ceremony will be hosted over June 20-22 in Lloydminster at the Vic Juba Community Theatre.

According to Butler, the nomination opens doors to new sponsorship that allows bigger acts to head to Loon Lake and join in the three-day experience with 33 different bands.

“I’m not going to go in there thinking I’m going to win, it’s just an awesome opportunity to present ourselves and to network with other festivals and then with other musicians.”

He said most bands are up-and-coming talent and about 80 per cent are Saskatchewan-based.

“Our festival is very history-based,” he said noting his family immigrated from the United States in the ‘70s following his dad’s time in the Vietnam War.

“We pulled out of the States, moved up to the middle of the bush and I grew up hunting, trapping.”

Butler said he works to celebrate the legacy of older generations by including historical artifacts on the grounds.

“It’s almost like a museum in a way too.”

Wicinski, who started Country at the Creek in 2012, said the festival has remained on the smaller side but she and her team are happy with how things are.

“It’s very much a family feel,” she said. “It’s very laid back, it’s very safe and secure and a very inclusive place to be. Yeah, it feels like a nice family gathering,” Wicinski added, noting last year, they added more programs.

Headlining this year are Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys and Darryl Anderson. Meanwhile, at the Dog Patch Music Festival, Raven Reid and Brayden King will be among the artists performing.

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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