The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club.
The inaugural New Canaan Music Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, at the New Canaan Nature Center, bringing what organizers call a full day of live music, food, children’s activities and community events to town.
Michael-Louis Smith
Festival director Michael-Louis Smith said the event has been about five years in the making. A lifelong musician who has organized concerts and other music festivals, Smith said he had been looking for the right opportunity to bring a festival to New Canaan.
“It’s something I’ve been trying to get off the ground for a while,” he said. “It’s not just something that just happened. It’s been in the works for about five years or so.”
Smith originally hoped to hold the festival at Waveny Park but said the Nature Center ultimately proved to be a better fit because of its layout.
The festival (tickets here) will open its doors at 11 a.m., with music running from noon to 10 p.m. Ten bands are scheduled to perform, with Smith emphasizing local musicians for the inaugural event.
“I think it’s important to kind of keep the focus on the local music scene,” Smith said. “If it’s the festival in New Canaan, we’ve got a lot of great musicians here that we would like to feature.”
Smith said the goal is not simply to hold the festival once, but to establish it as an annual community event.
“My vision is to make it an annual event,” he said.
While this year’s festival will focus primarily on local performers, Smith hopes the event can eventually expand to include larger national touring acts. He said he wants to first establish the festival as a grassroots event that brings the community together.
“It’s really a grassroots thing,” Smith said. “We’re hoping to get more community partnerships going.”
Family activities will be a major part of the festival. A children’s area will feature activities, nature scavenger hunts, a children’s author and a kids’ concert called “Not for Kids Only.” New Canaan Music will also present an instrument petting zoo.
Smith said having activities for children was particularly important to him as a father.
“I think it’s important to have a kids’ area,” he said. “I think doing it at the Nature Center, being a family-minded event, rather than an adults-only type of thing, is really important for me.”
Food trucks will also be on site, and attendees will be able to bring their own beverages. Children 12 and younger will be admitted for free.
A portion of the festival proceeds will benefit the New Canaan Nature Center. Smith said the organizers have not yet settled on a specific project for the money, but he hopes the event can provide both financial support and greater exposure for the Nature Center.
“They are a nonprofit, and it’s also bringing people out to the Nature Center,” Smith said. “Getting the exposure and things like that” is another benefit.
Smith has experience organizing similar events, including the Maple Roots Music Festival in Montpelier, Vt., which recently completed its seventh year. He has also organized a concert series at the Carriage Barn Arts Center.
One of the festival’s more notable acts will be The Telephones, a band that disbanded several years ago and is now coming back together.
With ticket sales underway, Smith said the festival is still working to build awareness in the community.
“We’ve got some pretty strong sales and people know about it so far, but I don’t think it’s quite caught on yet,” he said.
Ultimately, Smith said he hopes the festival can become another way for New Canaan residents to gather, support local musicians and enjoy the town’s natural surroundings.
“I think it’s important to do these kind of community events to support the music scene, to bring people together,” he said.