Thousands come together in Gallagher Park for Edmonton Folk Music Festival

Festival season continues in Edmonton, as the hugely popular Folk Festival kicked off with a bang Thursday evening.

Thousands of people lined up outside Gallagher Park Thursday afternoon, awaiting the chance to grab their spot on the hill. However, it wasn’t the race it has been in years past. This year, the chance to get the perfect spot was decided by a lottery.

This year’s Folk Festival is being headlined by Bonnie Raitt. As one of the most popular festivals of the summer, festival goers say it’s the focus on good music and the atmosphere that keeps the loyal crowd coming back year after year.

“It’s the best here. You can just chill out on the hill and listen to music with people that you’ve never spoken to before but, all of a sudden you’re best friends because you all like music together,” says Jileane Stokland, a Folk Fest regular.

“My wife and I have been coming as long as we’ve known each other and we’ll continue to do so,” says Don Gander who has been attending the Folk Fest for 33 years.

“The acts are unsurpassed, the volunteers are always phenomenal, and I always have a standout time. It’s basically the highlight of my year,” says Amanda Jex, a folk fest fan.

The festival has a reputation as one of the best folk music festivals in Canada. Organizers pride themselves on keeping the focus on the music. This year, they even tried to sell fewer tickets in hopes of making it more comfortable for those coming down to enjoy the event. However, it didn’t really work out as they had planned.

“We ended up cutting about 250 because it sold out so quickly, in under nine minutes, by the time we cut it off, another 700 tickets had gone through,” says Festival Producer, Terry Wickham.

Another step in crowd control will be coming next year. Currently, children and seniors can enter for free, which can nearly double the crowd in one evening. Next year, organizers say they will be charging seniors.

“We just couldn’t sustain that because literally, you could have many many thousand show up. So, we are looking at the limits to this festival, and we’ve reached them,” says Wickham.

The price for seniors will only be $20 per day, half that of a regular ticket.

But, with long time, loyal fans, it seems that isn’t going to deter people from their favourite festival of the season.

“Unfortunately, it’s coming you know, when it’s going to be close to my turn to go into that area but, I really understand, so that’s okay,” says Anna Radyo another festival regular.

The Folk Festival runs in Gallagher Park until Sunday.

With files from Ross Neitz.