Hootenanny celebrates homegrown heroes

West End

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This article was published 08/05/2024 (806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They say home is where the heart is.

On Friday, May 10, the West End Cultural Centre (586 Ellice Ave.) will host a Home Routes hootenanny in celebration of the legacy of Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky, featuring a who’s who of local folk and roots acts.

“It’s five years now since my pa died, and my mom is coming close to retirement,” said Leonard Podolak, co-artist and executive direcor of Home Routes, a non-profit organization founded by his parents in 2007 to promote grassroots concerts nationwide

“She’s had an extremely prolific career in the arts in this time and we felt that was something we could shine a light on,” Podolak said. “We’re putting on an exciting show with six wonderful acts that are diverse musically and thematically. We’re going to try to make the show flow, rather than one band then the next. We’re going to keep the artists around all day, if we can, to make for some cool collaborations.”

Dubbed “Mitch and Ava’s Hootenanny — A Legacy Show Celebrating Home Routes/Chemin chez Nous” will feature performances from Podolak’s group The Duhks, as well as fellow Folk Fest and Home Routes vets Romi Mayes, David Koulak and Friends, Little Miss Higgins, David Graham, and Al Simmons.

“From the point of view of a presenter, we’re excited to shine a light on the co-founder and general manager Ava Kobrinsky,” Podolak said.

Kobrinsky’s influence on the local arts scene cannot be overstated — nor completely catalogued in few words, though that didn’t stop Podolak from trying.

“She was part of the original staff of Manitoba Film and Music, she raised all the money for Contemporary Dancers to have their studio downtown in the Crocus Building, and was a big part of the resurgence of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre.

She sold advertising for the opera, worked at Prairie Theatre Exchange, (and) was right there with my dad founding Winnipeg Folk Fest, the West End Cultural Centre, and Home Routes,” he said.

“She’s made a very prolific contribution. She was awarded Order of Manitoba in the last couple years, which was a really nice nod from the political sphere. But this is a chance to bring that from the folkies, whose lives she’s impacted quite a bit.”

While the show is in part a nod to the past, it also acts as a beacon to the future of the Home Routes organization.

“It’s about celebrating legacies of Mitch and Ava, and also this national organization based here in Winnipeg, to let people know what we do,” Podolak said.

Since 2007, Home Routes/Chemin chez Nous has put artists into private homes or small, community venues across Canada, with an aim to keep building on that in years to come.

“Some shows have 40 or 50 or 60 people, some have 15 or 10,” Podolak said.

“We hope for the former, but even in the latter, the impact it has is profound … If you have a space that’s your own and a fairly broad community around you, or have access to a local community hall or library, whatever it is, we can make an intimate concert work.

“What it is about our shows is you’re either in the first, second or third row and, come intermission, you’re backstage. Community concerts and house concerts are a whole different phenomenon.”

Mitch and Ava’s Hootenanny — A Legacy Show Celebrating Home Routes/Chemin chez Nous will be held on Friday, May 10 at the West End Cultural Centre at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $35, or $40 at the door. Visit homeroutes.ca for more information.