Calgary Folk Festival brings crowds back with safety top of mind
The 42nd Calgary Folk Music Festival is in full swing at Prince’s Island Park with some changes, which were primarily put in place to prevent COVID-19 infections.
Instead of a multi-stage festival, this year’s event includes an outdoor concert series at the main stage. It’s called Summer Serenades, and capacity is capped at 15 per cent.
Due to physical distancing protocols, admission also looks different. Instead of individual ticket sales, each ticket gives access to a plot in front of the main stage that allows up to four adults and two children.
Masks are required to be worn at the festival, but can be removed while attendees and their cohort are seated at their plot.
Calgary Folk Music Festival’s artistic director Kerry Clarke said uncertainty leading up to the event was the greatest challenge to overcome.
“I think the fact that it’s happening is a huge success.”
This year’s lineup includes 36 artists, nine of which are from Alberta, performing Thursday, July 22nd to Wednesday, July 28th.
For some, it’s their first time in front of a live audience in more than a year.
Tarik Robinson of Dragon Fli Empire said, “Throughout 2020, we did a lot of virtual events so we’re glad to be here in person and interact with the audience face-to-face.”
Performers aren’t the only ones excited to be back on stage.
Erica Robinson said she and her friends are long time attendees of the Calgary Folk Festival.
“We missed it so much — it was like missing a part of our summer events.”
Organizers are encouraging attendees to buy tickets online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.