Fans begin set up for a weekend of country music at Country Thunder

The gates are open, and people are rolling in to get the best spot at this year’s Country Thunder music festival in Craven, Sask.

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the festival, and people are more than excited.

“I’ve been coming for 20, 30 years now,” said Kelly Kotzer, a long-time Country Thunder fan. “I love country music and it is a great price.”

Kotzer and many others arrived early Wednesday to set up camp for the weekend. She said outside of the music, camping is her favourite part.

“We’ve made lots of friends here and it’s the same people every year,” Kotzer said. “It’s so much fun and (there’s) so much to do.”

“We come out as a large group and just hang out and have fun,” said eight-year festival veteran Dnita Huck. “We have a hoedown and do some dancing.”

And while at times camping can get hectic, Huck said with the introduction of reserved spots a few years back, things have calmed down a little bit.

“We never really have a problem out here,” she explained. “There haven’t been any fights in our area so we just have fun.”

3:35 Country Thunder music festival lineup announced

While the festival officially begins on Thursday, Wednesday evening will have beer gardens open for those looking to get a head start on the celebration.

“We like to give fans the opportunity to come out and get settled a little bit before the party starts tomorrow,” said Megan Benoit, digital manager for Country Thunder.

“I always say it’s what you make of it. If you want it to be a rowdy party, we see a lot of people in the campgrounds who’ve got slip-and-slides and beer pong and stuff like that. But if you want a little more relaxed weekend that’s an option too.”

In total, Benoit said a couple of thousand trailers come through, while roughly 20,000 people take in the main concert performances.

The festival does offer a more family-friendly campground area, with quiet times earlier in the evening.

Headliners for this year’s festival are Jon Pardi, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, with performances from Bailey Zimmerman, High Valley, Midland, Brett Kissel and many more.

Some campsites are still available and can be found on Country Thunder’s website.