Hillside 2021 Update

09 May 2021

On behalf of everyone at the Hillside Festival, I hope you’ll please read the following statement:

We are currently in a stay-at-home order until late May 2021, and anticipate some form of restrictions to public gatherings through the summer, and so although it pains us to say this, we will not be able to hold the summer festival at Guelph Lake Island. Many festivals across Ontario and Canada are in the same unfortunate position and have made the same difficult choice.

We are, however, planning a virtual festival, and are hoping to include some live-streamed concerts. The alert levels in our community and province and the accompanying health and safety parameters leading up to this virtual festival will dictate exactly what we are able to offer, so please stay tuned. We want to ensure everyone stays safe and healthy, and we encourage everyone to closely adhere to the guidance from your local public health departments.

For those of you who deferred your purchased 2020 summer festival ticket to 2021, we thank you again and ask you to please hang on to that precious ticket because now it will be good for 2022 when we really hope to gather again.

Those who wish to receive a refund can go here. The deadline to receive a refund is May 31, 2021 at 11:59 PM (ET).

And for those of you who wish to donate—thank you from the bottom of our hearts—you may go here.

We are offering a bandana with this year’s artwork on it as a thank you to all those who are deferring their tickets to 2022 or donating to our organization. Please visit this link for more information about how to obtain your bandana.

We hope you can stay safe, happy, and as healthy as possible.

With gratitude for staying the course with us,
Hillside Staff and Board of Directors

Rest assured, we will be sending music and good vibes into your homes this summer.

Stay tuned for details. Artwork by C.M. Duffy

Join Jon and Roy as they perform a set streaming from the Hillside Festival Facebook page. They’ll be performing songs from their ninth studio album, Know Your Mind (out May 7, 2021), as well as fan favourites.

Support us with a
Hillside Fundraiser!

Host a fundraiser on Facebook for your birthday (or any other occasion, really), and connect with your social network around helping Hillside flourish!

We now have a Donate button on our Facebook page to make it easier for you to contribute to Hillside, and you can also start fundraisers for us by following these steps:

1. Go to facebook.com/fundraisers

2. Select Hillside Festival as the Non-profit

3. Modify the details and click “Create”

It really is as easy as one-two-three! We know how much Hillside means to our community and if you would like to encourage people to donate for a specific cause, the Girls & Guitars program, Green Initiatives, and Indigenous Circle are great options.

Feel free to use the information and wording here to create your fundraisers. In a time of uncertainty due to the global pandemic, we have been able to produce two virtual festivals and four courses, and we can only keep going with your support.

We are grateful to the federal, provincial and municipal governments for their support of the arts through funding programs, subsidies, honest conversations, and feverish brainstorming. To the smart and conscientious people behind the Ontario Arts Council, Canadian Heritage, Ontario Creates, the City of Guelph, Wellington County, Canada Summer Jobs, and Celebrate Ontario: thank you.