Bringing the country to Pontiac, Carole Faubert and Phil Denault celebrated their fifth anniversary of the Country Music Festival in Fort-Coulonge and Mansfield.

The couple hosted one of the biggest music festivals in the area which brings in people from all over Canada who share the love of country music.

“People are seeing each other now. And it’s been two years that they haven’t seen each other and it’s so nice to see that,” said Denault.

The festival was held at the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs and brought in just over . . .

200 RV, and around 800 people attended the event over the weekend from June 3 to 5. Every day the show went from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m.

They had a total of 25 artists from different corners of Canada; New Brunswick, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City, with two stages set up.

A few performers they were excited about were Stephanie St-Jean, who won La Voix in 2016, and Katty Bessette. The artists they chose to bring were top performers and if people were going to pay they wanted to make it worthwhile for their community, they said.

“We can’t let this event be an amateur show. People pay money. We need to give them professionals up there,” said Denault.

The couple was also celebrating their third year wedding anniversary as they got married on the main stage in 2019 and the year before Denault proposed to Faubert, they told The Equity.

“We met in 2013 at a festival and she looked me in the eyes,” Denault smiled. He added she was volunteering at a festival and was working backstage, which was how they met.

Because they were performers and they enjoy the festival scene, when they noticed a demand in the Pontiac they didnt hesitate to organize it. Both Denault and Faubert, have performed in festivals all across Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, and wanted to bring that to the Pontiac.

“We decided to get together and do one here. We want the Pontiac to be known and you know, come and visit the area. It’s nice to bring 1,000 to 2,000 people to our hometown, they spent a week here, there are some people who have been here since last Wednesday,” said Denault and Faubert.

They offered campers hydro and electricity and water on the ground, they turned the arena into a concert hall with a stage that is 16 by 32 and 20 feet high. For better sound quality they put up over 2,400 feet of geotextile all around the arena and the ceilings.

“It’s a unique festival,” he said.

The Equity talked to some festival goers who have come back every year and drive miles for their love of country music and the venue.

“We like the country music, the ambiance and everything there,” said Carole and Marc La Fontaine. The two were looking forward to see Carole Ann King who performed on Sunday.

Coming from L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Marie-Paule Leclerc and Gaetan Dumouchel traveled back and forth for the shows and love coming back every year to watch Denault and Faubert and the band.

Two brothers and their cousin from Sudbury and Pembroke came together to enjoy the festival and the french country music even if they dont recognize all the artists. “If its country music we’ll listen to it,” said Norman Lerroux.

A group of 11 campers have been coming back to this festival year after year and during the intermission they had a mini concert near their campers. The Equity spoke to Sylvie Venne who said she enjoys making this trip out to see her friends and listen to country music.

“Country music brings people together,” said Venne. She added that over the years she has made many friends just by coming to this festival and Denault and Faubert have made her feel welcome in the Pontiac.

“We want Mansfield and the Pontiac to be known. I mean, it’s a beautiful area and we want to bring people more people here to our area,” said Denault and Faubert.

For Denault and Faubert performing was part of their lives for many years. It started for Denault when he was at the age of nine and he went on to play with different family members for most of his childhood and early teens. From 2003 to 2009 he went to Nashville to work with Emerson Drive and Shania Twain where he recorded a few albums.

For Carole, although she didnt do it as her full time job, she was raised listening to french country singers. She played in a band from the age of 12 to 30 and was always involved in country music festivals in some capacity. “For me its just for pleasure,” said Faubert.

When asked what they loved about performing together they said: “Our voices. Our voices blend really nicely together. And people say that we really look in love when we’re on stage,” said Denault. Faubert interjected with “and off stage.”

During the festival weekend they also announced their new album release, Heritage, a duet album of some of their favortie classics by Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and others.

The couple hope to continue to organize the event and make it bigger and push to get big artists but thats only possible with the support of the community as they are a non-profit organiztion, they added. Without their sponsors and their 60 volunteers they couldn’t have put on the festival year after year. As well as Philip Kenny, who doesn’t charge them for letting campers park on his property during the event.

“We’re going to bring some famous people in the next three, four years. If it keeps going, we’re going to keep growing,” said Denault.

Mike La France and friends near their campers playing music and holding their own mini concert.

William Grawbarger in his cowboy hat here with family all the way from Kemptville to enjoy some country music.

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