Presented by Confederation Bridge at , Indian River, PEI
www.underthespire.ca Mary's Church, now home to Under the Spire Music Festival, was in serious disrepair. At that time suggestions were made to tear down the Church as the parish alone could not afford to undertake the expensive renovations. Mary's" campaign was launched in 1987. Due to an overwhelming response from area chu
rches, businesses, individuals, families and other groups, the necessary renovations were paid for and completed within 3 years. One of the campaign initiatives was the "Sundays in the Summer" concert series which proved to be extremely popular and a successful source of revenue; however the volunteer core behind the series became stretched to the limit and in order to evolve to the next level into a separate entity and formal event, a dedicated focus was required. Consequently, in 1996 Under the Spire Music Festival (formerly known as the Indian River Festival) was formed as an incorporated non-profit body for the presentation of fine music appropriate to the Church and to aid in the continuing upkeep and restoration of St. Mary's. In fall of 2009 St. Mary's Church was decommissioned, a common fate for many rural churches in Prince Edward Island. After many months of negotiations, the Festival and the authorities of the Diocese of Charlottetown came to a final purchase agreement for St. Mary's Church. On December 15, 2009, Indian River Festival Association Inc. became the sole owner of this wonderful heritage building. While this news brings a lot of excitement, it also comes with the huge responsibility of preserving and maintaining St. Mary's for the benefit of future generations.
