Calgary Folk Fest will be going ahead in July, but organizers say the annual multi-day music festival will look different than it used to.
Instead of having numerous stages for artists to perform on, there will be just one main stage and the festival’s usual amenities — like a family area and artisan market — won’t be around.
The 2021 summer concert series, which runs at Prince’s Island Park from July 22 to July 28, is called Summer Serenades.
“Audiences will come together while staying safely apart at this grassroots community gathering as we work closely with the City of Calgary and Alberta Health Services (AHS) and follow all COVID-19 protocols,” a news release said.
Masks will be mandatory at the event and organizers say there will be physical distancing in place and increased sanitization.
Audience members will be seated on so-called “home base tarps” with a two-metre distance between each home base.
The 2021 event will be reduced to 15 per cent of the festival’s normal capacity.
“These measures will keep the audience, artists, crews and community safe while bringing live music to our city,” a news release explained.
“Summer Serenades is a small step on the road to recovery for the festival, live music and the arts.”
Executive director Sara Leishman said the event will be a modest version of what people have come to expect.
“A complete sellout would be 1,890 in the audience and all the staff and our maximum capacity will be 2,500 people on site. That’s two thirds of our regular footprint so there’s lots of rooms to roam,” Leishman said.
“In the past, we had a tarp run, but this year when buying your tickets, you’re buying your own plot of a six foot by eight foot to ensure there’s two metres distancing around that tarp.”
Among the artists set to perform at the Calgary Folk Festival’s Summer Serenades concert series are Cowboy Junkies, Dan Mangan, Lido Pimienta, The Halluci Nation, Shad, Skratch Bastid, Hawksley Workman, The Jim Cuddy Band, Whitehorse and Ruth B.
The full lineup can be found online at calgaryfolkfest.com.
Singer/songwriter Kate Stevens is performing at this year’s event and can’t wait to be in front of a live crowd again.
“I cried. I was so excited and I immediately accepted,” Stevens said. “To be able to play with the greats, I am opening for Jim Cuddy. It was an immediate yes.”
Kerry Clarke helped organized the talent for the Folk Fest. She said the comfort levels of the audience, volunteers and musicians were taken into consideration.
“The performers who were up for it were vaccinated and ready to tour said yes right away. Others didn’t because they are staying at home and maybe in the province they live in, it doesn’t feel right to leave,” Clarke said.
Dr. James Talbot, the former Alberta chief medical officer of health said the event is a very intelligent and cautious approach to an outdoor event, unlike others that have come under scrutiny.
“In contrast, the Folk Fest is looking at things under control, they are doing exactly the right thing,” Dr. Talbot said. “They have control and there isn’t ancillary event stuff that would magnify transmission of the virus.
Tickets for Summer Serenades go on sale at 10 a.m. June 18.
“Due to extremely limited capacity we expect home base tarps/blanket spots to sell out quickly,” organizers said.
Leishman said they will have beer service and food trucks, but people are encouraged to bring their own snacks. There will also be a virtual offering for those who don’t feel comfortable seeing the concert in person.
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