Bear Creek Folk Fest, GP Stompede get tourism funding from city

The third annual Bear Creek Folk Festival has extended to four days with the addition of a free community event on Thursday.

The Outdoor Folk Fest Kick-off Concert is co-presented by Better Than Fred’s and the Grande Prairie Downtown Association. From 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August 16, local musicians will perform in the street outside Better Than Fred’s. The all-ages portion of the event was always included in the vision, according to Festival Producer Sarah Card.

“It was something we have been wanting to do for a while. It took us a matter of years to be able to be ready to do it. We really wanted to incorporate more of Grande Prairie,” said Card.

April Verch and The War and Treaty will perform on the family-friendly stage outdoors followed by an admission-by-donation show inside Fred’s by Caleb Hart.

Ticket sales for the following three days in Muskoseepi Park are also going well with Saturday almost sold-out.

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“Numbers are looking good. People are excited. It is going to be a fantastic weekend. It looks like the weather, knock on wood, is going to be good too,” she said.

Card emphasizes the event as “fun for the whole family” as kids 12 and under are free and youth cost $50 for the entire weekend.

“It is really meant to be affordable for families. We have amazing family programming like Sharon and Bram as well as other fun stuff like a great kid’s area,” she said.

“If you want to attend but you just can’t quite afford the tickets, we are still looking for volunteers. That is another way to become involved in the festival.”

Two organizations received Large Scale Tourism Funding from the City on Monday night including $100,000 for the festival. The Grande Prairie Stompede also received $75,000.