Two-time East Coast Music award winner Jill Barber will headline the second annual Harmony Bazaar: Festival of Women & Song to be held in the scenic South Shore town of Lockeport from July 23 – 29, 2007.

“We’re very excited to have Jill with us,” said Errin Williams Spidle, event organizer. “She is a rising talent and one of Canada's most distinctive voices.” Barber has received rave reviews for her long-anticipated second album, For All Time, and has opened for such legendary entertainers as Kris Kristofferson.

Rounding out the lineup is a mix of local and Nova Scotia acts such as Pat Watson, Irish Myphen, Cathy Cook & Joy Suttle, Judi Cleveland, Celtic Mystique and Shelley Meisner.

Nova Scotia's only women's music festival, Harmony Bazaar is a week long event that was developed to offer women a venue to showcase their talent. This year’s festival will feature four concerts, a gospel music workshop, a music camp for children and a marketplace. Stated Williams, “we listened to the feedback from both performers and concert goers who told us to include concerts for youth as well as gospel and bluegrass singers. The festival has something for everybody.”

As part of the activities, a “100 Years of Quilts” display will be showcased to mark the Town of Lockeport’s centennial year celebrations. Subsequent quilting workshops will provide a glimpse into this traditional form of women's artwork. The local high school gymnasium will be transformed into a kaleidoscope of colorful historic and contemporary quilts.

Another addition to the festival is The Fishy Award. “The Shelburne County Women’s Fishnet, which took the lead in the creation of Harmony Bazaar, decided that it was time to recognize Shelburne County women who create or promote opportunities for women in the arts to exhibit their talents,” Williams said. The newly created Fishy will be presented to Lynne Perry, a Lockeport native and former director of South Shore Tourism Association, and Susan Hoover of Shelburne who is the current artistic director at The Osprey Arts Centre.

Festival Passes are $20 and may be purchased at The Town Market Ltd. and Lydgate Corner Store in Lockeport, or by visiting or phoning The Whirligig in Shelburne (875-1117). People wishing to participate in the Saturday gospel workshop facilitated by Pat Watson of Bridgewater should contact Cindy Embree at 902-656-2793. For more information about the festival go to www.harmonybazaar.com