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{{Short description|Canadian radio host (1947–2019)}}
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'''Mitch Podolak''' was a prominent figure of the Canadian folk music community. He began his career at the Bohemian Embassy Coffee House in Toronto in the early 1960s, where he rose from busboy to booking shows. In the late 1960s, Mitch Podolak began a dynamic relationship with CBC Radio as a freelance documentary maker, working into the 1970s for such shows as Five Nights, CBC Tuesday Night, Between Ourselves, and This Country In The Morning. Podolak hosted the CBC's "Simply Folk" radio program from 1987 to 1991.<ref>"OCFF Conference 2007 Panelists." '' The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, Folk Prints'' Fall 2008: 24. Print</ref> Mitch passed away in the evening of August 25, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/winnipegfolkfestival/photos/a.91779889653/10157357493909654/?type=3&theater] "We are saddened to announce the passing of our founder" Winnipeg Folk Festival </ref>
{{Infobox person|birth_date=21 September 1947|death_date=25 August 2019|death_place=[[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, Canada|known_for=helping to found the [[Winnipeg Folk Festival]]|awards=[[Order of Manitoba]]}}
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'''Mitch Podolak''' (21 September 1947 – 25 August 2019)<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/winnipegfolkfestival/photos/a.91779889653/10157357493909654/?type=3&theater] "We are saddened to announce the passing of our founder" Winnipeg Folk Festival</ref> was a prominent figure of the Canadian folk music community. He began his career at the [[Bohemian Embassy]] Coffee House in Toronto in the early 1960s, where he rose from busboy to booking shows. In the late 1960s, Mitch Podolak began a dynamic relationship with CBC Radio as a freelance documentary maker, working into the 1970s for such shows as Five Nights, CBC Tuesday Night, Between Ourselves, and This Country In The Morning. Podolak hosted the CBC's "Simply Folk" radio program from 1987 to 1991.<ref>"OCFF Conference 2007 Panelists." '' The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, Folk Prints'' Fall 2008: 24. Print</ref> Mitch died in the evening of August 25, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/winnipegfolkfestival/photos/a.91779889653/10157357493909654/?type=3&theater] "We are saddened to announce the passing of our founder" Winnipeg Folk Festival</ref>


With CBC as a resource base, Podolak helped found the [[Winnipeg Folk Festival]] in 1974,<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/winnipeg-folk-festival "The Winnipeg Folk Festival."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526003456/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/winnipeg-folk-festival |date=2012-05-26 }} ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica-Dominion. 2010</ref> serving as the artistic director with Ava Kobrinsky and Colin Gorrie. It was an immediate success, and in 1978 he and Gorrie with Ernie Fladell, Gary Cristall, and Frannie Fitzgibbon founded the [[Vancouver Folk Music Festival]]<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/vancouver-folk-music-festival "Vancouver Folk Music Festival."] ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica-Dominion. 2010</ref> with Coilin Gorrie - creating the Vancouver International Children's Festival the same year - and within a few years, Podolak helped the [[Edmonton]] and [[Calgary]] Folk Festivals open their doors. The Vancouver Festival was a successful transference of the model Mitch Podolak developed in Winnipeg, and lead to the pre-eminent growth of the western Canadian folk festivals. He has been a major contributor to festivals further East as well, including [[Canso, Nova Scotia]], and [[Owen Sound]], among others. For a time, Mitch commuted between [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria, BC]] and Canso, NS, producing a multicultural festival on the West Coast and working with Troy Greencorn to establish the Stan Rogers Folk Festival on the East Coast.
With CBC as a resource base, Podolak helped found the [[Winnipeg Folk Festival]] in 1974,<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/winnipeg-folk-festival "The Winnipeg Folk Festival."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526003456/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/winnipeg-folk-festival |date=2012-05-26 }} ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica-Dominion. 2010</ref> serving as the artistic director with Ava Kobrinsky and Colin Gorrie. It was an immediate success, and in 1978 he and Gorrie with Ernie Fladell, Gary Cristall, and Frannie Fitzgibbon founded the [[Vancouver Folk Music Festival]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121013051810/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/vancouver-folk-music-festival "Vancouver Folk Music Festival."] ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica-Dominion. 2010</ref> with Colin Gorrie - creating the Vancouver International Children's Festival the same year - and within a few years, Podolak helped the [[Edmonton]] and [[Calgary]] Folk Festivals open their doors. The Vancouver Festival was a successful transference of the model Mitch Podolak developed in Winnipeg, and led to the pre-eminent growth of the western Canadian folk festivals. He has been a major contributor to festivals further East as well, including [[Canso, Nova Scotia]], and [[Owen Sound]], among others. For a time, Mitch commuted between [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria, BC]] and Canso, NS, producing the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria's FolkFest on the West Coast and working with Troy Greencorn to establish the Stan Rogers Folk Festival on the East Coast.


Beyond Folk festivals, Podolak was the co-founder of the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, and was the originator of the idea and effort that created the West End Cultural Centre, a major music venue in Winnipeg. In 1976, Podolak founded Barnswallow Records, the label that launched the career of [[Stan Rogers]]. More recently, Podolak operated as Executive Producer of Home Routes, North America’s only house concert circuit at the time.
Beyond Folk festivals, Podolak was the co-founder of the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, and was the originator of the idea and effort that created the West End Cultural Centre, a major music venue in Winnipeg. In 1976, Podolak founded Barnswallow Records, the label that launched the career of [[Stan Rogers]]. More recently, Podolak operated as Executive Producer of Home Routes, North America’s only house concert circuit at the time.


In 2015, he was made a member of the [[Order of Manitoba]], "for his contributions to the folk music community, and establishing and promoting music festivals and artistic venues in Manitoba and throughout North America."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://manitobalg.ca/news.php?id=50|title=TWELVE TO RECEIVE ORDER OF MANITOBA|date=May 12, 2015}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
In 2015, he was made a member of the [[Order of Manitoba]], "for his contributions to the folk music community, and establishing and promoting music festivals and artistic venues in Manitoba and throughout North America."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manitobalg.ca/awards/order-of-manitoba/official-registery/|title=Order of Manitoba – Official Register|website=www.manitobalg.ca|accessdate=May 29, 2022|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810215200/https://www.manitobalg.ca/awards/order-of-manitoba/official-registery/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100116135340/http://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/wp/about-us/organizational-history/ Winnipeg Folk Festival, History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100116135340/http://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/wp/about-us/organizational-history/ Winnipeg Folk Festival, History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901210053/http://thefestival.bc.ca/history Vancouver Folk Music Festival History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901210053/http://thefestival.bc.ca/history Vancouver Folk Music Festival History]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Podolak, Mitch}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podolak, Mitch}}
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[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian folk music]]
[[Category:Canadian folk music]]
[[Category:CBC Radio hosts]]
[[Category:CBC Radio hosts]]
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Canadian Trotskyists]]

Latest revision as of 01:22, 23 September 2023

Mitch Podolak
Born21 September 1947
Died25 August 2019
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Known forhelping to found the Winnipeg Folk Festival
AwardsOrder of Manitoba

Mitch Podolak (21 September 1947 – 25 August 2019)[1] was a prominent figure of the Canadian folk music community. He began his career at the Bohemian Embassy Coffee House in Toronto in the early 1960s, where he rose from busboy to booking shows. In the late 1960s, Mitch Podolak began a dynamic relationship with CBC Radio as a freelance documentary maker, working into the 1970s for such shows as Five Nights, CBC Tuesday Night, Between Ourselves, and This Country In The Morning. Podolak hosted the CBC's "Simply Folk" radio program from 1987 to 1991.[2] Mitch died in the evening of August 25, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[3]

With CBC as a resource base, Podolak helped found the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974,[4] serving as the artistic director with Ava Kobrinsky and Colin Gorrie. It was an immediate success, and in 1978 he and Gorrie with Ernie Fladell, Gary Cristall, and Frannie Fitzgibbon founded the Vancouver Folk Music Festival[5] with Colin Gorrie - creating the Vancouver International Children's Festival the same year - and within a few years, Podolak helped the Edmonton and Calgary Folk Festivals open their doors. The Vancouver Festival was a successful transference of the model Mitch Podolak developed in Winnipeg, and led to the pre-eminent growth of the western Canadian folk festivals. He has been a major contributor to festivals further East as well, including Canso, Nova Scotia, and Owen Sound, among others. For a time, Mitch commuted between Victoria, BC and Canso, NS, producing the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria's FolkFest on the West Coast and working with Troy Greencorn to establish the Stan Rogers Folk Festival on the East Coast.

Beyond Folk festivals, Podolak was the co-founder of the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, and was the originator of the idea and effort that created the West End Cultural Centre, a major music venue in Winnipeg. In 1976, Podolak founded Barnswallow Records, the label that launched the career of Stan Rogers. More recently, Podolak operated as Executive Producer of Home Routes, North America’s only house concert circuit at the time.

In 2015, he was made a member of the Order of Manitoba, "for his contributions to the folk music community, and establishing and promoting music festivals and artistic venues in Manitoba and throughout North America."[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ [1] "We are saddened to announce the passing of our founder" Winnipeg Folk Festival
  2. ^ "OCFF Conference 2007 Panelists." The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, Folk Prints Fall 2008: 24. Print
  3. ^ [2] "We are saddened to announce the passing of our founder" Winnipeg Folk Festival
  4. ^ "The Winnipeg Folk Festival." Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion. 2010
  5. ^ "Vancouver Folk Music Festival." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion. 2010
  6. ^ "Order of Manitoba – Official Register". www.manitobalg.ca. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
[edit]
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