Prince Edward County springs into the music festival season with County Pop May 6 at the Crystal Palace in Picton. The indoor all day all-ages fest featuring Joel and Bill Plaskett, Terra Lightfoot and The Weather Station, is lead by Dave Ullrich who also organizes the Sandbanks Festival in mid-September.

"The spring fest idea was to kick off the summer season of music and County art. It makes a nice counter balance to Sandbanks Music at the very tail end of summer," says Ullrich who was in the Inbreds with Mike O'Neill, they were part of the Cancon indie wave of the 90s. The Inbreds will reunite to play Sandbanks. Great Lake Swimmers, By Divine Right and The Lonely Parade are also on that bill.

The Festival's mandate says the organizers "believe that the Spring season is when the County ‘pops’ and this event kicks off the celebration of the natural beauty of the County." The festival prioritizes promoting the County's original music, arts, lifestyle, economy and environment and will donate one dollar from every ticket to the Prince Edward Learning Centre.

For those making the trip to PE and wanting to stay over, there is camping at Quintes Isle but for the less hardy, Ullrich recommends the June Hotel, sounds warm and with the Plasketts onstage you know the sounds will be warmer too. Good because I'm done with this winter, its as cold as Kelowna handclap.

For more details on either fest check the websites, COUNTY POP and SANDBANKS FESTIVAL