Vina Moses in front of the Hank Snow Home Town Museum in Liverpool. The museum is planning a summer country music festival beginning Friday. (Rick Conrad)

If you’re a fan of country music, Liverpool will be the place to be this weekend as the Hank Snow Home Town Museum kicks off Summerfest on Friday evening.

More than 25 acts are scheduled for the two-day event at the Hank Snow Gazebo Park, including the Saltwater Cowboys, Autumn Carver, and Dave Burbine.

Friends of Hank Snow Society administrator and longtime QCCR volunteer Vina Moses says fans from near and far will get a chance to listen to some great music.

“We’re going to have a lot of great acts, some that are new to Liverpool, some that … everybody has asked for and they’re coming back,” she said in an interview.

“And we’ve got a great lineup for the whole entire weekend.”

The summer festival took root during the pandemic when the museum couldn’t hold its traditional Hank Snow tribute.

“So this is a really key fundraiser for us,” Moses says.

“Every fundraiser that we have continues to support the continuation of this museum.”

The museum gets more than 3,000 visitors a season who pay tribute to Canada’s first major country music star. Hank Snow was born in Brooklyn, Queens Co., and recorded more than 140 albums and had more than 85 singles on the Billboard country music charts. He’s the only Canadian in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

The summer festival is also a good warmup for the main event, the Hank Snow Tribute from August 14 to 16.

“I am so excited for the tribute because it is youth-oriented,” Moses says.

“And I can tell you this, some of them have been coming here since they were five and six. And they are now teenagers. They’re touring all over the Maritimes. They’re going to Nashville. We have two of them just got back from Nashville. So we feel like we’re their parents because we have helped them become performers that everybody knows now.”

More than 40 acts will be coming to Liverpool for the tribute.

“We have young folks like Carson Fullerton, who’s like seven years old, has been to Nashville and back. Carson actually did a recording while he was there. We have folks like the Jovial Joes. They’re a young group of sisters from Halifax. We discovered them here. We asked them to come to our summer show. And boy, now they’re touring all over the Maritimes.”

Moses says organizers this year wanted to highlight young musicians while welcoming older favourites.

“You know, it’s interesting because you think of Hank Snow and you think, oh, old, nobody’s going to know Hank Snow. If you see the people who come here to visit, you would not believe it. They come from all over the world. And they all love music. They love country music. And they know that for a lot of these folks, Hank Snow started it for them. He’s the reason that people in Canada can go down to Nashville.”

As for this weekend’s festival, Moses says organizers tried to keep ticket prices as low as possible.

A weekend pass for one person is $55 or two for $100. And if you can make it for only part of the festival, ticket prices range from $15 for Saturday afternoon to $20 for Friday or Saturday evening.

“This weekend, we just want you to come and have fun. And we’ll have lots of food and we’ll have lots of fellowship and we’ll have lots of great music.”

More information about the Hank Snow Hometown Museum Summer Fest 2025 can be found on their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers are calling this year’s Hank Snow Tribute a resounding success.

More than 1,600 people showed up for the annual event which returned to Queens Place after a four-year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over $25,000 was raised at this year’s tribute which will go directly to supporting operations at the Hank Snow Museum.

Administrator with the Friends of Hank Snow Society (and longtime QCCR announcer) Vina Moses says the organizing committee knew after a four-year break they would need to change tactics to raise as much as they could to support the museum.

This year the group got the community to sponsor the names of performers, past and present who have appeared on the Hank Snow Tribute stage and included them in the program.

That sponsorship drive along with some government grants allowed organizers to cover all the concert expenses, leaving the money raised at the event to go directly to the Hank Snow Museum.

Moses says the Friends of Hank Snow Society had to be creative in finding ways to cover their costs through the pandemic. She says they hit upon the idea of hosting weekly barbeques at the museum site to help keep the doors of the museum open.

“That was money that we were able to use to keep the museum going for the last few months. That’s because of those diligent people who worked so hard on the Wednesday shows and the wonderful people who came to the Wednesday shows,” said Moses. “We had folks who came every week and we really appreciate them.”

Moses says the community has come to enjoy the barbeques and the society decided they will continue.

Even though the tribute has just ended, organizers are forging ahead to provide more music.

The group is now preparing for their annual Gavin Whynot memorial event Saturday Sep 9 from noon until 6pm at the Gaven Whynot Gazebo Park. Then they’ll set their sights on another event in December to recognize the many volunteers who help keep the memory of Hank Snow and his influence alive.

To hear the full interview with Vina Moses click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers of the annual Hank Snow Tribute are calling this year’s event a rebuilding.

Aside from a mini tribute that was held in 2022 to mark the 30^th anniversary of the show the COVID 19 pandemic kept the event off the schedule for the past three years.

That was bad news for the Hank Snow Hometown Museum which relies on the proceeds of the Tribute to fund its year-round operations.

Museum administrator and Chair of the Hank Snow Tribute Vina Moses says the Friends of Hank Snow Society are determined to get things back on track.

“COVID devastated us financially, it devastated us, of course, you know, we were down, our feelings were down but we all kept saying we are going to make it,” said Moses. “So, this particular tribute is a rebuild. And it’s a rebuilding for all of the things that we have to do. Rebuilding with the musicians, rebuilding of a new type of tribute.”

Organizers are shaking up the event this year by expanding from one headlining act for the festival to four days of headliners. Included in the list are Ruth Manning and the Prospectors, the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Famers, Southern Breeze, the Rhinestone Romeos and Joyce Seamone.

Moses who is also a long-time host and former General Manager at QCCR says keeping the legacy of Hank Snow alive is important.

She says the Liverpool native opened the door to the Nashville Music scene for generations of Canadians to follow. The former train station that houses the Hank Snow Hometown Museum was significant to Snow during a rough childhood.

“Well, it’s very interesting that Hank Snow called this particular train station his safe place when he was a child. He was an abused child and whenever he thought he was going to be abused, he came in here and laid down and slept here,” said Moses. “So, when they called him and told him they were going to have the train station as a museum he was so excited.”

Moses says roughly 3,000 people from around the world, including some prominent Canadian country musicians make the pilgrimage to the museum each year. She is excited to see the RVs rolling in across from the museum to set up base camp for the four-day tribute.

Tickets for the event being held at Queens Place are still available at Ticketpro.ca. More information on the Hank Snow Tribute can be found on the museum website and Facebook page.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers of the annual Hank Snow Tribute are calling for help.

For the past 30 years the life and legacy of Liverpool’s favourite son has been celebrated through several nights of concerts, music and memories.

But administrator at the Hank Snow Museum Vina Moses says the annual tribute which acts as their major fundraiser may not be enough to keep the doors open.

Moses who also appears on-air here at QCCR says a three-years long pandemic with little opportunity for fundraising has drained the organization’s accounts.

“The financial situation at the Hank Snow Museum is critical,” says Moses. “We are really looking for sponsors, especially for both of our events but mostly for the Tribute. We really need help this year to get through.”

Moses says the museum has kept the doors open and the lights on over the past few years thanks to the support of several large sponsors including the Region of Queens, Sobeys, Belliveau Veinotte accountants and Heritage Canada.

Hank Snow was Canada’s first major country music star. His career took flight when he moved to Nashville in 1949. Over the next five decades he recorded 140 albums and landed 85 singles on the Billboard Country charts including number one hits “I’m Moving On” and “I’ve Been Everywhere”.

Moses is hoping to see others who are passionate about Snow’s music step forward and support their work.

“There are folks who have already helped, and we are now looking for some more major sponsors as well as folks who will maybe sponsor $50.”

Moses says that $50 will place the sponsors name beside an artist on the festival literature.

Headlining the Hank Snow Tribute this year will be Ruth Manning and the Prospectors on Thursday, a collection of Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees is featured on Friday, the Rhinestone Romeos from the valley and Southern Breeze from New Brunswick will co-headline Saturday and Joyce Seamone will lead the finale Sunday.

Country legend Carroll Baker was scheduled to headline the Tribute, but Moses says due to circumstances beyond their control the Hank Snow Society couldn’t fly her in.

Organizers are working to bring Baker back next year.

The Hank Snow Society is planning several other events this summer including weekly Wednesday barbeques featuring local performers at the Hank Snow Museum.

The Hank Snow Tribute will be held at Queens Place in Liverpool the weekend of Aug 17 and tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 14.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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South Shore Drive-in screen. Photo credit: Catherine Croft

A popular way to spend a night out in Queens is over – at least for now.

The group behind the South Shore Drive-In announced they would not be operating this year because members are stretched too thin by work and other time commitments.

The South Shore Drive-In was embraced by the community as a fun, family-focused event that was nostalgic for older patrons who remember seeing movies from their cars years ago and exciting for younger audiences who experienced the drive-in for the first time.

Because family groups could stay isolated within the bubble of their own vehicle it was also one of the few places large numbers of people could gather during the height of the COVID pandemic.

The South Shore Drive-in operated as a pop-up event in locations across Queens but eventually found a home on the grounds of the Hanks Snow Museum in Liverpool.

The community rallied to provide labour and materials to erect a permanent screen on the site.

Because of that kind of support, the drive-in may enjoy new life.

The Hank Snow Society wants to make use of the existing infrastructure and begin showing movies again.

Vina Moses, administrator at the Hank Snow Museum expects staffing the event won’t be a problem.

“We have tons of volunteers. One of the things that Hank Snow has is a wonderful, dedicated group of volunteers,” said Moses.

She says they’re looking for a projector and have already begun the process of getting permits to operate the Drive-In.

Moses says the fire marshal indicated a third exit is needed but that could be easily made by removing a couple of large boulders.

The site has seen several recent upgrades including improved access to washrooms and a new concessions building where patrons can enjoy anything from popcorn and candy bars to hot dogs.

Moses says a drive-in is a wonderful way to bring families and the community together.

“It was so exciting when we had the drive-in here because families were here, people were here from all over. You could see people talking to one another,” said Moses. “The fellowship was nice.”

Moses says if they can line up the permits and source a projector the Hank Snow Museum could be opening the drive-in starting weekends in July.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Tribute show scheduled for August has been cancelled.

This marks the third year in a row the annual tribute has been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vina Moses* with the Hank Snow Museum says uncertainty around what restrictions will be in place this summer have forced organizers to call it off.

“We are already preparing for the Hank Snow Tribute. We started around December,” said Moses. “We have money that we have to outlay beforehand. The board was worried that perhaps anything that they deposited might not be returned.”

Those include deposits paid to artists, the venue, equipment, and souvenir suppliers.

The tribute show normally attracts around 2,000 people to the Liverpool area and is the main source of income for the museum.

Moses says private donors and all three levels of government have stepped in to keep the museum operating during the pandemic.

But she says it’s the fans of the Country Music Hall of Famer that drive the event.

“People don’t realize that the Friends of Hank Snow Society is not limited to Nova Scotia,” said Moses. “It’s not limited to Queens, to Nova Scotia, it’s not limited to Canada. We have people from all over the world.”

Despite a passion for the man who wrote iconic hits such as “I’m Moving On” and “I’ve Been Everywhere”, Moses says many people are still wary of gathering indoors at a large event.

Last year, the Friends of Hank Snow Society held an outdoor mini tribute at the Hank Snow Museum and plans are in place to do that once again on the third weekend in August, in place of the annual tribute show.

Moses says the group is planning to add another small country-music festival to be held on the grounds the weekend of July 23.

Anyone wishing to attend either of those events can book ahead by contacting the Hank Snow Museum.

*Vina Moses is also general manager of QCCR

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Hank Snow mini-tribute will go ahead this weekend. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Museum in Liverpool is welcoming visitors to enjoy a taste of the Annual Hank Snow Tribute show.

The big event has been cancelled the past two years due to COVID so the folks at the Hank Snow Museum have decided to host a mini-tribute this weekend.

Acting administrator of the Hank Snow Museum Vina Moses says people understand why the tribute was called off in 2020, when everything was cancelled, but wonder why it couldn’t go ahead this year.

She says it comes down to people not being able to come over the US border.

“Both performers and visitors. We have performers from Nashville come up. We have performers from all over the United States and all over Canada. We have performers who come to the tribute, some of them, every year,” said Moses.

Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

The mini-tribute will feature performers who had been scheduled to appear at the Hank Snow tribute show.

The annual event normally requires eight to ten months of preparation.

Moses is awed by the efforts of so many to get the mini-tribute up and running in such a short period of time.

“We did it in less than five weeks. Don’t ask us how we did it, we just, everyday we worked day and night,’ said Moses. “I mean, we were working here for five weeks straight and we’ve got everything under control and everything organized and we’re really excited about it.”

Because of public health restrictions, capacity at the mini-tribute will be limited to 250 people.

Already, close to 50 RVs have booked their spaces and Moses expects turnout could be at or above capacity both days.

“We’re hoping that people will call and book so that we have their bookings made and we know for sure that we have those. But we are still looking for walk-ins because we have enough room, I think, for them,” said Moses.

The money raised at this weekend’s mini-tribute will be added to the donations collected from a weekly barbeque and live music fundraiser held every Wednesday this summer to cover some of the museum’s operating costs throughout the year.

The Hank Snow Mini-Tribute begins at 6:00pm Friday evening and runs until Saturday night.

For tickets or more information contact the Hank Snow Museum on their website or by calling 902-354-4675.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Museum staff is looking ahead to a better summer this year.

Despite having to call off the annual tribute show for the second year in a row due to COVID restrictions, the museum’s doors will be open and music will be played.

Acting administrator Vina Moses says they’re accepting visitors by appointment and Wednesday will mark the start of a weekly concert and BBQ series she’s calling the ‘Hank Snow Chuckwagon BBQ & Wednesday Entertainment”

“We are doing everything outdoors because that’s the only way that we can do [the event] with spacing,” said Moses. “It’s very hard to do it indoors and try and clean and all that kind of stuff.”

Moses says they will be following all COVID protocols from social distancing and cleaning to hand sanitizing and masks.

Because the events will be held outdoors there will also be some new steps taken to make visitors comfortable.

“We realize that we can’t let people sit out there in the sun so we’ve got sun shelters this year which is really a big and a wonderful addition,” said Moses.

While the shows are free, Moses says the museum will gladly accept do nations.

“Because we don’t have the tribute we need this money to augment our lights, our electricity, our fuel,” said Moses. “So it’s actually to keep the museum going during the whole year.”

Moses says the museum relies on events such as this, their monthly online 50/50 draw operated in partnership with QCCR and the $10,000 the Region of Queens provides each year to keep the operation running.

It turns out closing the doors for an extended period of time has allowed museum staff to dive deep into their collection to put more memorabilia on display.

Moses says they’ve dug into filings cabinets and examined close to 40 boxes that have been in storage.

“It’s been wonderful because we’ve had the time to peruse them all, to find letters from Hank Snow himself. We’ve been able to find memorabilia that we would not have known about,” said Moses.

As far as when the annual tribute show will resume, Moses says that is up to public health officials.

“If you saw the line up of people who come here, they’re from all over. They’re from all over the United States, they’re from all over Canada,” said Moses. “ So we could never have the tribute without having the borders open.”

Moses says whenever the tribute does happen again they have already confirmed Carroll Baker will be headlining.

Until then the “Hank Snow Chuckwagon BBQ & Wednesday Entertainment” will run each Wednesday until mid-September.

The series kicks off Wednesday with Autumn Carver at noon followed by Bob Russell and the Salt Water Cowboys at 1:00pm.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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