Sled Island kicks off Calgary's summer festival season
Sled Island kicks off Calgary's summer festival season
After a couple "complicated and painful" years, Sled Island is back in Calgary this week.
Festival manager Shawn Petsche said returning to the local music and arts event in 2022 is like a homecoming.
"For a lot of people, it feels like the actual ribbon cutting," he told CTV News. "We're finally back to making music and playing music like we used to."
After two years of pandemic cancellations and audibles, the fest is fully booked and raring to go. It kicked off Wednesday and runs until Sunday. The concerts and art-related events draw more than 40,000 attendees every year.
"It's five days, 240 bands and 25 venues," Petsche said. "We've got something like 300 volunteers. Basically, we like to think of it as Sled Island is just going to take over the city for four or five days."
Many of the 25 stages -- especially the smaller ones -- have had a devastating few years. COVID-19 forced cancellations and closures. So to many businesses, this year's Sled Island means more than just a few parties.
"We made the most amount of money that we've ever made on a Wednesday (last night)," Kaffeeklatsch owner Jessica McCarrel said. "I'm pretty sure that (attendees) are having a fabulous time and they will remember that and they will come back in the future."
The coffee shop is hosting bands for the first time ever this year after Tubby Dog -- a Sled favourite for all ages concerts -- closed its doors.
McCarrel is hoping to receive a bit of a financial boost after opening the cafe during the pandemic. She's feeling optimistic.
"This is really contributing to the cultural landscape of Calgary and to the excitement," she said.
Sled Island -- which includes music, films and art gallery shows -- runs until Sunday night.
For more information on the lineup and schedule, visit sledisland.com.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fire at Cairo Coptic church kills 41, including 10 children
A fire ripped through a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Egypt's capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshippers, including at least 10 children. Fourteen people were injured.

Republicans demand to see affidavit that justified FBI search of Trump's home
Republicans stepped up calls on Sunday for the release of an FBI affidavit showing the underlying justification for its seizure of documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
Weapon in deadly 'Rust' film set shooting could not be fired without pulling the trigger, FBI forensic testing finds
FBI testing of the gun used in the fatal shooting on the movie set of 'Rust' found that the weapon handled by actor Alec Baldwin could not be fired without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked, according to a newly released forensics report.
'Fanaticism is a danger to free expression everywhere': Ignatieff on Rushdie attack
After Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie was attacked during a writing conference in western New York on Friday, current and former Canadian politicians are weighing in on what such attacks mean for freedom of expression and thought.
Salman Rushdie 'on the road to recovery,' agent says
Salman Rushdie is 'on the road to recovery,' his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of 'The Satanic Verses' suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in upstate New York.
LAPD ends investigation into Anne Heche car crash
The Los Angeles Police Department has ended its investigation into Anne Heche's car accident, when the actor crashed into a Los Angeles home on Aug. 5.
Arizona parents arrested trying to get in locked-down school
Police arrested three Arizona parents, shocking two of them with stun guns, as they tried to force their way into a school that police locked down Friday after an armed man was seen trying to get on campus, authorities said.
Feds quietly change rules to allow one-time ArriveCAN exemption at land border crossings
The Canada Border Services Agency is temporarily allowing fully vaccinated travellers a one-time exemption to not be penalized if they were unaware of the health documents required through ArriveCAN.
Norway puts down Freya the walrus that drew Oslo crowds
Authorities in Norway said Sunday they have euthanized a walrus that had drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord after concluding that it posed a risk to humans.