Krugofest will run over the next two weekends in Regina and tickets are almost sold out for half of the shows.
The music festival, which started in 2020, takes place on the parkade rooftop of Regina’s DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on July 9 to 10 and July 16 to 17.
Canadian country music artist Gord Bamford is starting things off on Friday with The Sheepdogs performing Saturday, which is almost sold out.
On July 16, Doc Walker will take the stage and Big Wreck will be closing the show out on July 17, another show that is almost sold out.
Tickets are available at Krugofest.com
Include in the ticket price is a room at the DoubleTree hotel for four people with a private balcony that overlooks the stage.
Also included in the package are three catered meals by local chefs from Sprout, Legacy and Hillside Smoke.
Guests are allowed to bring their own food and alcohol, too, making this festival experience even more unique.
Kirk Morrison, CEO of Krugo said the team learned a lot from last years’ show – the first Krugofest.
Morrison added that the show was “built in COVID for COVID” so there are many safety restrictions in place.
He highlighted staggered check-in times for guests, physical distancing throughout the hotel and private rooms as part of guidelines.
“Everything about the event from check-in to enjoying the show to leaving the hotel is built for COVID safety and guidelines,” Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.
Saskatchewan is set to remove all remaining public health restrictions on July 11, including gathering limits and the provincewide mask mandate, but Morrison said not much will change for the event.
Krugofest has partnered with Regina Food Bank with a goal to provide 90,000 meals to those in need through proceeds from the festival, and other donations.
“The pandemic exposed the depth of food insecurity in our community including 140 per cent increase in first-time users, but it also showed how creative we can be as a city when we come together to feed our neighbours,” David Froh, community vice-president for Regina Food Bank, said.
Froh said Krugofest is put on at a time where the food bank doesn’t usually raise a lot of money.
He’s hoping proceeds from the events as well as other donations will make a difference.
“The demand never stops,” Froh said.
Last year, 45,000 meals were donated from the event.
Froh said there will be QR codes on tickets that will direct straight to the donation page. For every $1 that is donated, the food bank can provide three meals for someone in need.
Spokesperson for Tourism Regina Chris Bonk said the event is just the beginning of what is in store for the tourism and event sectors.
“I think there’s definitely a pent-up demand and we’re going to see even beyond Krugofest there’s a lot of live music that’s set to happen in Regina,” Bonk said.