Mission Statement
We present world-class, culturally diverse music and artistic experiences to enrich and build community.
Value Statement
To expose, entertain and enrich our community by delivering an excellent presentation of culturally diverse music and related artistic experiences, engaging a multi-generational audience.
Vision Statement
Celebrate Together
Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES is more than just a leading BC Music festival. It’s a place where music lovers of all ages and backgrounds express themselves. It’s a festival where kids dance and play while parents and grandparents reconnect with old friends and swap stories of performances from the past three decades. ROOTSandBLUES is more than a community, it’s a family. And our family is growing.
Where Musicians Go to Play
Our ROOTSandBLUES festival is held annually in July over 3 days on the festival grounds. From humble beginnings as standalone folk shows in Salmon Arm community halls, ROOTSandBLUES has grown into a major Western Canadian outdoor event with a growing family of fans and volunteers from all over Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Now, we welcome that family to our community every summer for a relaxed tradition of Blues and Bluegrass, Indigenous, Celtic and Cuban, Americana and Afrobeat.
Come and experience the picturesque Shuswap Lake as you enjoy our annual festival complete with multiple stages and a varied set-list. Even our daytime workshops are renowned for delivering high-voltage performances.
Our focus always remains on the ROOTSandBLUES Festival. It’s the thread that ties incredible music into a shimmering tapestry of culinary delights from an international food village, a fun zone for children, an artisan marketplace featuring handcrafted Canadian made originals, and a tranquil camping site within earshot of the festival.
The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society (SAFMS) is a non-profit charitable organization that presents the Annual ROOTSandBLUES festival, a concert series, and participation in many local community outreach activities.
Taking place in the beautiful Shuswap Lake in the unceded traditional territory of the Secwepemc peoples in the Interior of BC, the festival has been a cultural presence in the community for over three decades. The SAFMS’s mission is to present excellent world class, culturally diverse music and artistic experiences to enrich and build community.
History of the Organization
The SAFMS began in 1979 through the hard work of a group of music lovers who wanted to promote local music as well as present touring artists in our small community. At that time, the group belonged to the Northern Music Circuit, an organization comprised of mostly northern BC communities that were able to block-book musicians at a reasonable price, guaranteeing national and international musicians a few weeks of touring throughout central British Columbia.
Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Society presented approximately 20 concerts a year – all through the efforts of a core group of dedicated volunteers, as paid staff did not exist until 2001.
In 1991 the SAFMS became a registered non-profit society and began planning its first Roots and Blues Festival. Held indoors at a small rural community hall in October of 1992, the first Festival attracted just enough attendees to continue with the idea the following year. The second year the Festival moved to the considerably larger Community Centre in Salmon Arm and then in later years added a few more indoor venues. In 2000, the group took a year off from presenting the Festival and hired a consultant to evaluate our Society and its course of direction as an arts presenter. As a result, the Society made the decision to hire year-round staff, open a permanent office, move the Festival to an outdoor venue and stage it in the summer.
Our Organization’s Management and Staff
The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society has an annually elected Board of Directors consisting of 12 community members. The board approves the annual budget of the society and reviews financial statements on a monthly basis. The board has several active committees that are involved with their own governance, and the Society’s strategic planning, human resources, as well as committees that offer guidance to staff related to sponsorship, community outreach, and site related issues. This Board meets on a monthly basis with the Executive Director and Artistic Director.
The Society employs 3 -5 year-round staff members and 7 – 12 seasonal contractors. Over 650 volunteers contribute to the festival weekend.
Properties Utilized by the SAFMS
The SAFMS’s main office is conveniently located at 541 3rd ST SW, Salmon Arm, BC. The SAFMS is very proud to have purchased this building and property in 2025 from the City of Salmon Arm.
The festival venue at 490 5th AVE SW is leased from the Shuswap Agricultural Association. These grounds are used for other community events throughout the year, including the Salmon Arm Fair.
Outreach venues that are utilized by the SAFMS are owned by local businesses, non-profits and the City of Salmon Arm. These include: Ross St Plaza, Marine Peace Park, Song Sparrow Hall, and more.
Outside of our BC music festival, we, the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society, invest in our community to inspire emerging artists. We welcome visitors and locals alike to a Thursday night Community Super Crawl with entertainment located throughout the downtown core.
We respectfully acknowledge and recognize that the work of the SAFMS takes place on the unceded traditional territory of the Secwepemc Peoples.
Directions to the Festival
- Festival Location: 490 5th Avenue SW, Salmon Arm, BC
- Office Location: 541 3rd St. SW, Salmon Arm, BC V1E1V4
- Mailing Address: Box 21, Salmon Arm BC V1E 4N2
- By motor vehicle – 5 hours from Vancouver and 6.5 hours from Calgary.
- By plane – 1.5 hour drive from Kelowna International Airport (serviced by WestJet, Air Canada, and Horizon Air).
Enter the heart of B.C.’s beautiful Interior. Located halfway between Calgary and Vancouver on the TransCanada Highway, Salmon Arm is nestled on the shores of one of the largest, most pristine lake systems in British Columbia. Shuswap Lake alone has more than 700km of shoreline with plenty of sandy beaches for recreation and relaxation. Outstanding natural beauty, clean waterways, provincial parks, and an abundance of green space meet a storied history and vibrant culture that thrives in our world-famous recreation area.
Held at the Salmon Arm Fair Grounds, the Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES Festival lives on 17 beautiful acres with Mount Ida and the Fly Hills providing a scenic background.