The Canadian Festival With the Mostest!

Winnipeg Folk Festival

By Jamie Lund
Contributing Writer

The summer of 2011 commences as many music festivals sprout across the country. If you enjoy traveling, camping and learning about out new types of music then be sure to check out the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Located in beautiful Manitoba, Canada it’s not your ordinary music event. This year you’ll find an exciting collection of accomplished and emerging artists. You’ll hear everything from legends, locals, and even some of the best new Canadian folk voices around. The many promising artists from around the world will light up Provincial Park on Birds Hill at the 38th annual folk festival!

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is one of North America’s premier outdoor music festivals. This four day event takes place each summer over the second weekend in July at Birds Hill
Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada. This years’ festival will run July 6 – 10. Throughout the festival you’ll experience features music performances, a folk school, programs for young performers and young visual artists, over 100 artisans, children’s programming, a visual art exhibition, and a food village that encourages the use of local, organic and fair trade ingredients. The Winnipeg Folk Festival is also a year round arts organization.

Winnipeg is known for its education and outreach programs that are designed to benefit the community through presenting live music, music training, art events, and even operating a folk music store in Winnipeg’s Old Market Square. This popular festival is also a non-profit charitable organization. If you aren’t sure about a purely folk-filled festival, not to worry! There will be literally something for everyone this year, with over 70 music acts to keep your attention over the five days at Provincial Park. Music acts will range from everything from classic folk, old time music, family/children genres, celtic, indie folk, roots, blues, funk, gospel, Appalachian, contemporary, electronic, jazz, theatre, aerial dance, string-band, country, soul, Balkan, bluegrass, puppet theatre, kid hop, new grass, circus, and even spoken word. Musicians will be traveling to Manitoba from all over the world.

A few celtic bands such as Beoga and Caladh Nua will be traveling from Ireland to wow the crowd with their traditional Irish sounds. Ganga Giri will bring their world music to the stage with a twist of electronics traveling all the way from Australia. Another world music artist, Omar Souleyman, from Syria will also be performing. Even Minnesota’s own new grass band, Trampled by Turtles, will be at the festival. (You can catch them the week before at the High Plains Festival in Detroit Lakes as well!) One of the most original artists at this year’s folk festival will be Ordo Sakhna, all the way from Kyrgyzstan. Of course there will also be a wide variety of folk style artists that will be live onstage.

The many folk musicians will include Andy White, Blind Pilot, Caracol, Charlie Parr, Christa Couture, Chuck Prophet, Connie Kaldor, The Crooked Brothers, Dan Crary, Dan Mangan, The David Wax Museum, Frazey Ford & The Quiet Revolution, Fred Penner, Jaune Toujours, Lucy Wainwright Roche, M. Ward, Mountain Man, Oh My Darling, Samantha Crain, Sarah Jarosz, Spiro, Tegan & Sarah, The Be Good Tanyas, The Jayhawks, The Once, Tim Robbins and the Rogues Gallery Band, The Tom Fun Orchestra, and Trout Fishing in America. All of these folk bands/artists are from various places across the world. They will all bring a similar sound with a unique style to the stage.

Melissa McClelland will take the main stage after the opening ceremony on Wednesday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m. to kick things off. After five days of live music, The Gospel Queens will take the finale and wrap things up on Sunday, July 10 at 9:45 p.m. Along with the main stage events there will also be an abundance of local acts performing on six separate stages Friday through Sunday within the park.

The side stages include The Big Bluestem, Snowberry, Green Ash, The Little Stage, Shady Grove, and Bur Oak. Acts begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday and go until 5:30 p.m. on Sunday evening. These acts are designed to be entertainment before the big names take the main stage. There are also a few acts that will be performing each night and will be known as ‘Big Blue @ Night’. These acts run from 7:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Tickets for this can’t-miss festival are on sale now at a few convenient locations.

Advance only ticket prices are in effect until June 30, and will go up as of July 1. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or online at the Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store. Gate admission is available July 1 through the day of the festival. Many options are available for purchasing tickets. A full-festival 5 day ticket without camping ranges from just $21 for children to $231 for adults. Single day tickets are available any day with varying prices.

Camping is available for those who want to experience the full festival effect; however the Festival Campground is already booked. There is another campground available called The Quiet Campground, but tickets are going fast. The festival committee recommends everyone to purchase music and camping tickets early to avoid inability to camp. Free shuttle buses run from the campgrounds to Birds Hill, where all the madness will take place.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival has even more to offer than just musical entertainment. They are also proud to support the visual arts. There will be craft sales throughout the weekend featuring local artists and unique instrument makers. There will also be a prairie outdoor exhibition, campground exhibition and animation projects, a “hand-made” village, art shows, as well as a young artists program. This festival is full of fun for everyone of all ages who share a love for music and the arts.

If you’re looking for something new this summer, head out to Winnipeg, Canada where the 38th annual Folk Festival will take place July 6 -10. With over 70 artists of all types, camping, visual art displays, craft sales, and more- you won’t be disappointed! You’ll be wowed by locals, legends, and some of the best Canadian voices around. Don’t forget your passport on the way to the border, and get cozy in the heart of Canada at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

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