Craig Milton's house and barn in flames on Aug. 7, in Summerland, B.C. Milton and his wife, Deb Taylor, started hosting concerts in their barn about ten years ago, which would see musicians perform throughout the summer.Supplied
Artwork. Handwritten letters. Thousands of vinyl records. These are just some of the things that went up in smoke when Craig Milton’s home, which doubles as a local concert venue, burned to the ground last weekend in Summerland, B.C.
“One of our neighbours called me at like three in the morning on Friday and basically said, ‘I’m watching everything you have burn,’” he said.
Milton is one of more than 20,000 residents forced to evacuate Summerland and other Okanagan Lake communities last week, shortly before the province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency.
But Milton and his wife, Deb Taylor, lost more than just their home. For almost a decade, the couple ran An Evening in the Valley, a concert series held every year in the property’s barn. Shows would take place over a dozen weekends, with musicians such as blues guitarist Brandon Isaak and alternative country singer Leeroy Stagger travelling across Canada to take part.
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A concert was scheduled for last Saturday, but the couple received an evacuation order on Friday. They cancelled the performance and fled north to a relative’s apartment in Kelowna, with their tortoise, snake and aging Great Dane wedged into their car. Minutes behind them, the fire barrelled across the highway.
“We had tons of memorabilia and a lifetime of records in there. It’s just, you know, what can you grab? There’s so many things that don’t even cross your mind, and it just hits you in the face every 10 minutes, something you lost,” Milton said.
The couple also operates an animal sanctuary and were devastated to leave behind their ducks, sheep, goats and chickens, but they’ve heard from a neighbour that the animals have been safely contained in a nearby pasture outside the evacuation zone.
The same can’t be said for their farmhouse and the beloved barn where they once welcomed friends, community members and a roster of Canadian musicians. Once the fire started spreading, the buildings didn’t stand a chance, Milton said.
Before it went up in flames, the barn was converted into a venue with vintage guitars, piano parts and thousands of records gracing the walls.Leah Henng/Supplied
“It creates its own huge updraft, and we’ve had four years of drought, so it’s tinder-dry around us. The fire was creating wind and was blowing huge chunks of embers about a kilometre ahead of itself … and it just kind of leapfrogged onto our house.”
It’s not just his home he’s grieving, but the community that formed around the concert series, especially given the deficit of dedicated arts and cultural spaces in Summerland.
A Night in the Valley started as a “selfishly motivated” experiment because Milton was tired of seeing live music in bars where other patrons talked throughout shows. He and his wife hauled bales of hay and tractors out of their barn and invited one or two local musicians to perform. Soon the couple had hundreds of people signing up to receive their e-mail newsletter, eager for more performances.
“It was in this little Mad Max-looking barn and it started with like 20 chairs in the middle,” he recalled.
The farmhouse and the beloved barn where Milton and his wife once welcomed friends, community members and a roster of Canadian musicians didn’t stand a chance against the fire, Milton said.Leah Henng/Supplied
Eventually the barn was converted into a more permanent venue with vintage guitars, piano parts and thousands of records gracing the walls. When Milton decided they needed a PA system, the community raised $6,000 to purchase one. The event grew so popular that tickets once sold out in less than a minute.
Between 60 and 100 guests would show up for performances, some from the community and others from across Canada who heard of the series through word of mouth. Musicians received free food and accommodation in a guest house Milton had built on the property.
Now, as he tries to focus on day-to-day logistics – keeping his laptop charged or finding pants to wear, for example – Mr. Milton is buoyed by the thought of rebuilding his beloved venue and once again taking the stage to introduce a local musician.
“The outpouring of support from the community that was built around that venue has been kind of breathtaking,” he said. “I’ve literally got hundreds of e-mails and texts and messages on social media from artists and people in the community and people who came once from Ontario or from California or New Zealand, who reached out to say it was one of best nights of their lives.”
Milton and his wife were scheduled to have an event at their barn on Saturday, but were ordered to evacuate on Friday.Leah Henng/Supplied
Calgary-based Jory Kinjo is one of several musicians co-ordinating fundraising efforts to support the couple and, ultimately, help them rebuild their home and venue.
“Craig and Deb created something that we needed and that we loved, and that really helped grow our community,” Kinjo said. “It’s time that we show them that we’re here when they need us, and that it wasn’t all just for temporary entertainment.”
Kinjo, who was scheduled to play at the venue last Saturday before the evacuation order was issued, has countless memories of sharing meals and listening to records with Milton long after the performances had ended. The couple never took a cut of the concert proceeds, Kinjo says: It all went to the musicians.
“It was really something special for musicians because we could travel, and it would really be worth it because we would stay a couple of nights,” he said. “Pretty much every show sold out, and people would buy merch. And I think Craig mostly did it out of passion and love because he loved music.”