The Regina Folk Festival is hitting 50 this weekend with a lineup headlined by A Tribe Called Red, Jason Isbell and Blue Rodeo. There will also be plenty of local talent on display, such as The Dead South, Colter Wall and Megan Nash.
Volunteers have been hard at work over the past few days setting up the festival site in Victoria Park, and now it’s showtime.
“It’s incredible, all the energy that comes together, all the people that are walking around downtown and seeing people in volunteer shirts, seeing all the team come together is really incredible,” festival artistic director Sandra Butel said.
The festival has seen major growth in the past 50 years, going from individual indoor performances to a full weekend of music in the heart of downtown Regina that attracts thousands.
Butel added they have special performances lined up to celebrate the half-century milestone. This includes New Dance Horizons, who have choreographed special dances to represent each decade of the festival.
Anyone who’s been downtown through the past couple of months is sure to have noticed extensive road work on Victoria Avenue, along the south side of Victoria Park. That work is still in progress, but festival-goers won’t have to worry about construction equipment drowning out the music.
“They’ve paused working on it. We’ve been doing a lot of conversations and negotiation with the city,” Butel said.
“They’re a full partner in making sure people have access to the festival and they can enjoy it.”
The Regina Folk Festival runs from August 9 to 11, with the main-stage acts beginning at 6 p.m. The three daytime stages are free to attend on Saturday and Sunday. Performers take the stage between 11:30 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Kids Stage, which is also free, will have performers from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Sunday.
WATCH: Regina Folk Festival stands test of time, celebrates 50 years of business