In 2016 Charlie Rhindress approached the Town of Amherst with the idea of celebrating the story of Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery, one of Canada’s best known ghost stories. Rhindress was hired as a consultant by the Town of Amherst to explore the idea further. After a number of public meetings and a visit to Salem, Massachusetts, Rhindress turned in a report with dozens of ideas and eventually Esther Fest, a celebration of The Great Amherst Mystery and the paranormal, was born.

The Festival was first held in 2017 and various versions were held for the next few years. Initially the event was run by the Town of Amherst, but in 2023 a new non-profit group, The Great Amherst Cultural Society, was created to take over the festival. Working closely with the Town and a group of volunteers the Festival has grown each year since then. 

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Executive Director of Esther Fest

Charlie Rhindress is the Executive Director of Esther Fest. He is an actor, writer, director and producer based in Amherst, NS. Rhindress wrote a play about The Great Amherst Mystery called Guilty! The Story of the Great Amherst Mystery which premiered at Live Bait Theatre in Sackville, NB in 1991. The show received very positive reviews and played to sold out houses. It has been staged twice since then; again at Live Bait Theatre and once in Happy Valley, Labrador. Charlie has also appeared in a number of television shows and podcasts talking about the story of The Great.

To learn more about Charlie click here: https://charlierhindress.com/

Or here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Rhindress

 

Board of Directors for The Great Amherst Cultural Society

Nancy Boudreau-Sutherland

Ron Kelly-Spurles

Erin Lewis

Heather MacIntyre

Karen McKinnon