Arts County Fair was an annual large outdoor benefit concert

Benefit concert

A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...

/beer garden

Beer garden

Beer garden is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served. The concept originates from and is most common in Southern Germany...

 that ran from 1992 to 2007 at Thunderbird Stadium

Thunderbird Stadium

Thunderbird Stadium is an outdoor stadium on the University Endowment Lands of British Columbia, west of Vancouver's city limits. It is used primarily for soccer and football by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. It seats 3,500 in the main grandstand...

 at the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

, Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Arts County Fair was the largest student-run event in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

; organized, produced, and promoted by the students of the Arts Undergraduate Society of the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

.

Event

It combined several bands of different musical genres, one hundred and fifty volunteers, and fifteen thousand patrons to create the most widely-anticipated campus event at the University of British Columbia. The fair was not held on a specific date each year, but instead on the last day of classes at UBC. This usually put the fair during the first and sometimes second week of April each year. It has been estimated that over 160,000 people have attended the event.

It usually ran from 12 noon to 8pm, and was attended by students from across British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, by members of the local music and recording industries, as well as the general public. Arts County Fair was a charity event, and each year the proceeds from the concert were donated to two local or national charities.

Production

In preparation for the fair, the organizing committee used to commit one week to full scale preparation for the event. A group of 40-50 individuals, mostly composed of past and serving members of the Arts Undergraduate Society council, took to the field of Thunderbird Stadium. Preparations included setting up concession tents, placing plywood and covering over the entire field to prevent grass damage, and assisting with the set-up of fences. On the day of the fair, the volunteers then committed to a fifteen-hour work shift, fulfilling such essential jobs as safety patrols and drink distribution.

The preparations for ACF 11 were filmed in an attempt to document the event for training purposes, but the finished video was never delivered. The partial video is available on YouTube

Food and Beverage

ACF was often heralded as the year's biggest beer garden, with alcoholic beverages being the staple at every fair. Because this caused issues with minors attending the event, ACF organizers tested out two options over the years. One is having the event completely closed off to minors, such as ACF 14. And the other to have a special beer garden section and a minors sections, such as at ACF 15. The latter option worked well with both groups of people being able to enjoy the concert. There used to also be a large section of concession stands that serve non-alcoholic beverages and various types of food.

Bands

It was the goal of the ACF organizers to represent as many genres of music at their concerts as possible. This involved frequent inclusions of rock, country and hip-hop acts in the show. Although the Fair did not exclude non-Canadian acts, ACF advertises itself as a showcase of local Canadian talent. The stage has seen many big-name bands, some before they met commercial success: The Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies

Crash Test Dummies

The Crash Test Dummies is a Canadian folk rock/alternative rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, widely known for their 1993 single "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm".The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts and his distinctive bass-baritone voice...

, The Philosopher Kings

The Philosopher Kings

The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...

, Matthew Good Band

Matthew Good Band

Matthew Good Band was a Canadian alternative rock band formed by Matthew Good that existed from 1993 to 2002. The band consisted of Good , Dave Genn , Ian Browne and Geoff Lloyd from 1995 to 1999...

, Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

, Swollen Members

Swollen Members

Swollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada consisting mainly of the duo Mad Child, and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002...

, De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

, Treble Charger

Treble Charger

Treble Charger was a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but evolved into more of a pop punk band after signing to...

, K-OS

K-os

Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...

, The Weakerthans

The Weakerthans

The Weakerthans are a four-piece Canadian indie rock band.-History:The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he left the punk band Propagandhi to start a publishing company. Samson joined forces with bassist John P...

, The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...

, Stabilo

Stabilo

Stabilo may refer to:* Stabilo , a global maker of writing, highlighting and coloring pens* Stabilo , a Canadian musical group* Stabilo Boss , the self-titled album by Stabilo Boss...

 and Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...

.

ACF 1 - April 3, 1992

• The Barenaked Ladies
• Spirit of the West
  Spirit of the West
  Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...
  
  
• Bob's Your Uncle
  Bob's your uncle
  Bob's your uncle is an expression commonly used mainly in Britain and Commonwealth nations. Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions to mean, "And there you have it", or "You're all set". For example, "To make a ham sandwich, just put a piece of ham between two slices of...
  
  
• The Grames Brothers

ACF 2 - April 2, 1993

• The Crash Test Dummies
• The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
• John James
  John James
  John James was an architect particularly associated with Twickenham in west London, where he rebuilt St. Mary's Church and built the house for Hon. James Johnson, Secretary for Scotland, later Orleans House...
  
  
• She Stole My Beer

ACF 3 - March 31, 1994

Spirit of the West

• The Spirit Merchants
• People Playing Music
• Lowest of the Low
  Lowest of the Low
  Lowest of the Low may refer to:*The Lowest of the Low, a Canadian alternative rock group*Lowest of the Low , an album by American band Terror*Lowest of the Low , a book by Günter Wallraff about Turks living in Germany...
  
  
• Junkhouse
  Junkhouse
  -History:Formed in 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario, the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Tom Wilson, guitarist Dan Achen, bassist Russ Wilson and drummer Ray Farrugia....
  
  

ACF 4 - March 31, 1995

• Moist
  Moist
  Moist was a five-piece Canadian alternative rock band that was popular in the mid-to-late-1990s. The band was led by lead singer David Usher, along with Mark Makoway , Jeff Pearce , Kevin Young and Paul Wilcox .-Biography:...
  
  
• One
  One (band)
  ONE was a boy band that first appeared in 1999, recognized as both Greece and Cyprus's very first boy band. The band was formed by leading Cypriot-Greek composer Giorgos Theofanous who got them signed with Minos EMI and wrote all their music and lyrics, and consisted of Constantinos Christoforou,...
  
  
• The Philosopher Kings
  The Philosopher Kings
  The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...
  
  
• Rhymes With Orange
  Rhymes With Orange
  Rhymes with Orange is an American comic strip written and drawn by Hilary B. Price and distributed by King Features Syndicate. The strip was first syndicated in 1995....
  
  
• Mollie's Revenge

ACF 5 – April 4, 1996

• Ashley MacIsaac
  Ashley MacIsaac
  Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac is a Canadian professional fiddler from Cape Breton Island.His album Hi™ How Are You Today?, featuring the hit single "Sleepy Maggie", with vocals in Scottish Gaelic by Mary Jane Lamond was released in 1995...
  
  
• The Pursuit of Happiness
• Bass is Base
  Bass is Base
  Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group from Toronto, Ontario, active during the 1990s.The band consisted of Chin Injeti on bass, Ivana Santilli on keyboards, and MC Mystic on percussion...
  
  
• Barstool Prophets
  Barstool Prophets
  The Barstool Prophets were a rock band formed in Cornwall, Ontario in 1989 that was active throughout the 1990s. The members were bassist Glenn Forrester, singer/songwriter Graham Greer, guitarist Al Morier, and drummer Bobby Tamas. Originally known as the Wallflowers, the band changed its name in...
  
  
• The Super Friendz
  The Super Friendz
  The Super Friendz are a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, active between 1994 and 1997, reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label.-Origins:...
  
  

ACF 6 - April 11, 1997

• 54-40
  54-40
  54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
  
  
• Big Sugar
  Big Sugar
  Big Sugar is a Canadian blues-rock band, they were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010. The band has sold more than half a million albums in Canada.-History:...
  
  
• One Step Beyond
  One Step Beyond
  -Television:* Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, an American anthology television series 1959-1961, hosted by John Newland* One Step Beyond , a program broadcast by Discovery Channel...
  
  
• Mudgirl
• Pluto
  Pluto (Canadian band)
  Pluto was a Canadian alternative rock band from in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for a Juno at the Juno Awards of 1997. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Ian Jones, guitarist Rolf Hetherington, bassist John Ounpuu and, drummer Justin Leigh.-History:Pluto formed in...
  
  

ACF 7 – April 7, 1998

• Great Big Sea
  Great Big Sea
  Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
  
  
• Matthew Good Band
  Matthew Good Band
  Matthew Good Band was a Canadian alternative rock band formed by Matthew Good that existed from 1993 to 2002. The band consisted of Good , Dave Genn , Ian Browne and Geoff Lloyd from 1995 to 1999...
  
  
• The Rascalz
• Holly McNarland
  Holly McNarland
  Holly McNarland is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter.She collaborated with Matthew Good on the song "Flight Recorder From Viking 7" from the album Loser Anthems as well as on the song "Pony Boy" from Matthew Good's greatest hits package In a Coma...
  
  
• Huevos Rancheros
  Huevos Rancheros
  Huevos Rancheros are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1990 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.-History:Huevos Rancheros perform an instrumental blend of rockabilly, surf, Grunge and punk music. The band currently consists of guitarist Brent Cooper, bassist Tommy Kennedy and drummer Richie Ranchero...
  
  

ACF 8 – April 9, 1999

Bands

• 54-40
  54-40
  54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
  
  
• Econoline Crush
  Econoline Crush
  Econoline Crush is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada formed in 1992. Originally formed in Seattle, they eventually moved back to Vancouver...
  
  
• The Planet Smashers
  The Planet Smashers
  The Planet Smashers are a ska punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since their formation in 1994, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they quickly rose to national, and eventual international fame, with tours in the United States, Europe, and Japan...
  
  
• The Odds
• Pure
  Pure (band)
  Pure was a Canadian rock band, formed in Vancouver in 1991. Previously, the band was known as After All and Grin Factory. Signed to the Reprise label, the band reached a greater audience once their song "Greedy" was featured on the soundtrack album Songs from the Cool World, and the single "Blast"...
  
  

DJs

• Markem
• Eric Lewis
• James Brown
• Andy B
• Seamus

ACF 9 - April 5, 2000

Bands

• Moist
• The Watchmen
  The Watchmen
  The Watchmen is a Canadian rock band. They were one of the most commercially successful Canadian alternative rock groups of the mid to late 1990s. During their peak years the band had three gold records and one platinum record...
  
  
• Danko Jones
  Danko Jones
  Danko Jones is a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Danko Jones and JC...
  
  
• The Rascalz
• Gob
  Gob (band)
  Gob is a Canadian punk band from Langley, British Columbia formed in 1993, The Band consists of Tom Thacker, Theo Goutzinakis, Gabe Mantle and Steven Fairweather. Gob's most successful album is World According to Gob and their most successful song to date is I Hear You Calling...
  
  

DJs

• Grooverobber
• DJ Kita Kaze
• DJ Sebastian
• DJ Wax
• DJ Seven vs. Cliff Vermette

ACF 10 - April 5, 2001

Bands

• Big Sugar
  Big Sugar
  Big Sugar is a Canadian blues-rock band, they were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010. The band has sold more than half a million albums in Canada.-History:...
  
  
• Wide Mouth Mason
  Wide Mouth Mason
  Wide Mouth Mason is a Canadian blues-based rock band, consisting of Shaun Verreault , Safwan Javed , and Gordie Johnson . Former bassist Earl Pereira was also co-founder of Wide Mouth Mason...
  
  
• Choclair
  Choclair
  Kareem Blake, better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He helped develop Canadian hip hop in the 1990s, as a member of the Circle.-Career:...
  
  
• Limblifter
  Limblifter
  Limblifter is a Canadian alternative rock group from Vancouver, formed in 1996.-History:The group was originally formed by brothers Ryan Dahle and Kurt Dahle, as a side project from their main band, Age of Electric, along with a third member, Ian Somers...
  
  
• Templar

DJs

• DJ Deko-ze
• Greg C
• DJ Deliverance
• Jay C

ACF 11 - April 5, 2002

• The Tea Party
  The Tea Party
  The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences, dubbed "Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s up until 2005 when the band broke up, The Tea Party released eight albums on EMI Music Canada, selling 1.6 million records...
  
  
• Big Wreck
  Big Wreck
  Big Wreck is a rock band formed by Ian Thornley in 1994. They disbanded in 2002 and Ian Thornley went onto a successful solo career with his own band Thornley. In 2010, Ian Thornley and Brian Doherty reunited for a cross-Canada tour, playing both Big Wreck and Thornley songs. Doherty then...
  
  
• Swollen Members
  Swollen Members
  Swollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada consisting mainly of the duo Mad Child, and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002...
  
  
• Baby Blue Soundcrew
  Baby Blue Soundcrew
  Baby Blue Soundcrew is a Canadian DJ group from Toronto, Ontario, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music. The group is composed of Kid Kut, KLC, C-Boogie, and Singlefoot. They are notable for releasing two commercially successful compilation albums in 2000 and 2001.-History:Kid Kut and KLC became...
  
   (feat. Choclair)
• The New Deal

DJs

• Jon Delerious
• DJ Leanne
• Mack Hardy
• Dirty Circus (feat Sweatshop Union
  Sweatshop Union
  Sweatshop Union is a Canadian hip hop collective formed in 2000 when four politically minded rap acts—Dirty Circus, Pigeon Hole, Kyprios and Innocent Bystander —came together "to create a powerful, distinctive voice", and to produce their first album, which was published in 2001.Known for an...
  
  )
• ari + uzi

ACF 12 - April 9, 2003

• 54-40
• Treble Charger
  Treble Charger
  Treble Charger was a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but evolved into more of a pop punk band after signing to...
  
  
• I Mother Earth
  I Mother Earth
  I Mother Earth, or IME, was a Canadian alternative rock band. The band was at the peak of its popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s; its members have moved on to other projects.-Early years:...
  
  
• The New Deal (feat Razhel of The Roots
  The Roots
  The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
  
  )
• Not By Choice
  Not by Choice
  Not by Choice is a Canadian punk rock music band from Ajax, Ontario. They have released two albums, Maybe One Day in 2002 , and Secondhand Opinions in 2004....
  
  

DJs

• Sweatshop Union
• Fourth World Occupants
• Rupix Cube
• Dana D v. Kamandi
• Needle Kineval v. Hedspin
• DJ Wundrkut

ACF 13- April 8, 2004

• De La Soul
  De La Soul
  De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
  
  
• Andrew W.K.
  Andrew W.K.
  Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
  
  
• Wide Mouth Mason
• Pilate
  Pilot Speed
  Pilot Speed is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1999 in Toronto, Ontario. The quartet's debut EP, For All That's Given, Wasted, was released in 2001 which gathered attention from MapleMusic Recordings who later signed them...
  
  
• High Holy Days
  High Holy Days
  The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
  
  

DJs

• Abasi vs. Glnn
• Tantra
• REV vs. Kyle Nordman
• OJ
• Crown Vic

ACF 14 - April 8, 2005

• Matthew Good
• K-OS
  K-os
  Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...
  
  
• Metric
  Metric (band)
  Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles...
  
  
• Stabilo
  Stabilo
  Stabilo may refer to:* Stabilo , a global maker of writing, highlighting and coloring pens* Stabilo , a Canadian musical group* Stabilo Boss , the self-titled album by Stabilo Boss...
  
  
• Tupelo Honey
  Tupelo Honey
  Tupelo Honey is the fifth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York before his move to Marin County, California, except for "You're My Woman", which...
  
  

ACF 15 - April 7, 2006

• The New Pornographers
  The New Pornographers
  The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
  
  
• The Weakerthans
  The Weakerthans
  The Weakerthans are a four-piece Canadian indie rock band.-History:The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he left the punk band Propagandhi to start a publishing company. Samson joined forces with bassist John P...
  
  
• Corb Lund and the Hurtin Albertans
• Cadence Weapon
  Cadence Weapon
  Cadence Weapon is the stage name of Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian rapper.-Biography:Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, his father was Teddy Pemberton, a pioneering hip hop DJ on CJSR-FM, and his grandfather was Rollie Miles, a football player for the Edmonton Eskimos...
  
  
• The Salteens
  The Salteens
  The Salteens are a Canadian indie pop group formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1997. The band is in rotation on CBC Radio.-History:Their 2000 debut LP Short-Term Memories was released on Endearing Records...
  
  
• dj my!gay!husband!

ACF 16 - April 12th, 2007

• Sam Roberts
  Sam Roberts
  Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...
  
  
• Aaron Pritchett
  Aaron Pritchett
  Aaron Pritchett is a Canadian country music singer. He was born in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.-Biography:...
  
  
• De La Soul
• Pride Tiger
  Pride Tiger
  Pride Tiger was a Canadian rock band, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Consisting of vocalist and drummer Matt Wood, guitarists Bob Froese and Sunny Dhak and bassist Mike Payette, the band released its debut EP in 2006...
  
  
• Land of Talk
  Land of Talk
  Land of Talk is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band consists of singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell, bass guitarist Joseph Yarmush and drummer Andrew Barr.-History:...
  
  
• DJ my!gay!husband!