Newt Fest is a new outdoor music and arts festival happening in Spillimacheen, British Columbia, June 12-13. Here are the artists who’ll be playing.

Cute, tiny, and hangin’ in the wetlands. That’s Newt Fest, a new outdoor music, arts, and land-lovin’ festival taking place June 12-13 in Spillimacheen, British Columbia. Two-time Juno nominee Chad VanGaalen (pictured above) is the featured headliner for the festival, which is hosted at the Bugaboo Sisters Homestead.

The family-friendly, all ages festival includes the inaugural Newt Golf Art Invitational Putt Putt Tournament as well as wetlands explorations, indigo dye scarf-making, whirligig workshops, and zine production at one of the Columbia Valley’s oldest post offices. The live music starts at 8pm on Friday with live music featuring Jonnor, from Spillimacheen, Morri from Golden and the ethereal Selci from Winnipeg. There will also be late night dance sets of Italia disco, alt pop, German new wave and more.

On Saturday the music starts at 7pm and will feature Fawns (Lethbridge), Cold Water (Calgary) and Chad VanGaalan. “We’re all about great music, food, and ‘framily,'” says music director Connor-Harvey Derbyshire. “We have this amazing venue…well it’s a whole darn ghost town brought back to life now, and we couldn’t think of a better place for folks to know the Columbia Valley and listen to live music with friends. We wanted to create an intimate live music and creative festival for all-ages. That’s what’s at the heart of Newt.”

When asked about whether the event will continue in lieu of covid-19 concerns, Derbyshire replies, “As of this moment we’re going to hold steady. Our attendance is capped at 150 folks based on the intimacy we set out to create for our artists and guests at the festival. That said, we Newts are a tough lot but we’ll never put our peeps in peril. So, save the date and stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks and months.”

Passes are on sale for the weekend, a day, or a show: www.showpass.com/newtfest2020.