The founding artistic director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Mitch Podolak is an icon of the Canadian and Manitoba folk music community. In the late 1960s, he began a dynamic relationship with CBC Radio working for such shows as This Country in the Morning as well as hosting the Simply Folk radio program from 1987 to 1991. Moving to Manitoba in the early 1970s, he helped found the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974 along with his wife Ava Kobrinsky and Colin Gorrie, serving as the artistic director for 13 seasons. The festival continues to this day as one of the most successful folk festivals in Canada and a premiere tourist attraction in the province. Additionally, Mitch Podolak was founding artistic director of the Vancouver Folk Festival and a major influence in starting folk festivals in Edmonton, Calgary, Owen Sound and Canso, Nova Scotia. In 1976, he founded Barnswallow Records and helped launch the career of Stan Rogers. Moreover, he was the founding artistic director of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival and the West End Cultural Centre. Currently, he is founding artistic director of Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous, North America’s only house-concert circuit. In 2013, Mitch Podolak received the Unsung Hero Award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
