Photo credit: Bear Creek Folk Festival/Facebook.

By Curtis Galbraith

Community

Ticket sales, volunteer numbers for Bear Creek Folk Festival well ahead of last year’s pace

Mar 14, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Bear Creek Folk Festival organizers say ticket sales and volunteer sign ups are well ahead of where they usually are at this time of year.

Producer Sarah Card says sales are “absolutely shattering the numbers from last year.”

“Our ticket sales, at the moment, are where they were in late May last year and that was with some pretty major names on the ticket.”

“We are anticipating a sell out (possibly) this month. The trajectory is there for that to happen significantly earlier than last year.”

Among the performers at this year’s festival will be Emerson Drive. The band started in Grande Prairie and this stop will be part of its final tour, called One for the Road.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Card says it is very exciting to have them come to the festival.

“As a band that grew up (and) had their start in Grande Prairie, for it to come full circle and for us to be able to host their final, farewell hometown concert is a really special thing for us.”

Council approved $80,000 in funding for the festival at Monday’s meeting.

Card says it is important to have stable funding as costs have gone up 30 per cent in the couple of years plus other funding sources have dried up.

“This helps us continue (to) work on keeping our event on a solid footing.”

“We can never guarantee what our income is going to be like due to weather and other things, so (it is good) to know that we have secure income to help us pay for this event and help us put some of the other money that we might have had to put towards the event towards building our infrastructure, paying of all debts.”

Besides approving $80,000 in funding, council also asked administration to compile a report on the city buying things like tents, stages and fencing that could be rented out to community events and to look at connecting the Borstad Hill area in Muskoseepi Park to electricity.

Card says electricity has been under discussion for several years.

“It would be very exciting. If we were able to wire that site, it would mean the opportunity for other events to be able to happen in that beautiful space.”

“It’s such a lovely park and it doesn’t get utilized a lot because it is incredibly prohibitive and difficult. You have to haul all kinds of generators and trucks down there.”

Card says this would also save the festival some money.

Card adds they would also be “interested in exploring” the idea of the city buying stages and fences. She adds the more infrastructure that is bought for the festival, the more it is able to help other community events.