'It's the right thing to do': Circle the Wagons festival changing its name

The food, music and beer festival will be changingits name after organizers received complaints it could be seen asculturally insensitive.

Since 2013, the travelling communitycarnival calledCircle the Wagons has been bringing food, art and performance together for one weekend in Calgary.

But the brains behind the event have decided to change the festival's nameafter complaints started popping up online that it could be seen as racist.

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"It had not occurred to us,"Baran Faber, director of Circle the Wagons and co-owner of BassBus, told the Calgary Eyeopener."I mean, I don't think we would have ever named a community event knowing that it was (offensive) or could be to some people."

Faber said the complaints have ranged from blunt to educational but all carry the same message: the name is offensive toIndigenous people.

'Keep the event open and inclusive'

For organizers, the name was a clever play on the fact that all three founders had stylized"wagons" the BassBus, the Village Brewery andFiasco Gelatofood trucks.

But"circle the wagons" is thename of a defensive techniqueused by early settlers for protection against possible attack byIndigenouspeople.

Faber said the phrase is also used in the business world and means "pulling the team together."

Regardless of what the name may or may not mean to some groups, Faber and the rest of the festival team say changing the name will keep in the spirit of the festival's founding principles.

"As simple as it is for us, we want to keep the event open and inclusive for everyone, and if that means changing the name, that's easy for us. We want to keep this accessible for all," Faber said.

"We think it's the right thing to do for the community," he said. "We'll have fun with it. We'll create a new name and build some excitement around it, too."

New name next year

This year's festival is just over a month away. Faber said about 5,000 people are expected to attend, and withall thepreparation,marketingand branding that goes into the event, changing the name won't happen at the drop of a hat.

Faber said this year's event is already in motion so the name will changenext year, but the organizers are open to suggestions on what the new name will be.

Calgarians can go to Circle the Wagons' Facebook page to pitch their idea for a new name and find out more about the festival.

Circle the Wagonstakes place onSept. 9 at CurriePark. It will feature more than 20 musical acts, threebars, a carnival market with more than 30vendors and over a dozen food trucks.

General admission tickets are available online.

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