35 Years and Counting

As the 35th Winnipeg Folk Festival was winding down on Sunday evening, birthday cake was served backstage while the crowd enjoyed a stellar closing night with performances by headliners Kathleen Edwards, Joan Armatrading and Ray Davies, capping off four days of music and celebration�four days that were not without their challenges, but saw a record paid attendance of 45,325.

Thursday�s concert was marked by hometown heroes The Weakerthans, a hypnotizing performance by Dobet Gnahoré, and an anxiously awaited return of 2007 hit Michael Franti & Spearhead. A bit of rain on Friday couldn�t dampen spirits of eager workshop-goers and an enthusiastic main stage crowd revelling in an evening highlighted with Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet and sacred steel player Robert Randolph.

Saturday, wind and rain pounded directly into Main Stage for most of the day, making it too wet for performers and technicians to work on. Saturday�s evening show had to be moved to nearby Green Ash Stage. Fans who braved the elements were rewarded with a day of workshops including bluegrass and blues-themed shows and a workshop appearance by Calexico in the company of Apostle of Hustle and The Acorn. Calexico continued to wow the crowd on the Green Ash �main stage�, which was opened by folk goddess Nanci Griffith and closed by Afrobeat star Seun Kuti.

Despite Saturday�s weather, festival fans were loyal and hardy, as were the Festival�s legion of 2,300 volunteers, who pulled together and really made the show go on. All were rewarded with a beautiful sunny Sunday capped with closer Ray Davies, who had the crowd on its feet for much of a performance that included both his recent solo work and Kinks� hits, with plenty of opportunities for (well appreciated) crowd participation.

Sales of weekend passes were high this year at 9,951, up over 300 from last year. High weekend pass sales�each four-day pass is counted as four people in the total attendance figures�accounts for the record numbers despite lower than normal day passes on Saturday, which is usually the Festival�s biggest day.

The Festival Campground was sell-out two weeks before the gates opened, the earliest it has ever sold out.

The 2008 event was the 35th annual Festival, and new innovations to mark the anniversary included a focus on sustainability initiatives such as local and fair trade food and compostable beer cups, the creation of a secondary evening area at the opposite end of the Festival site from main stage, and the introduction of the Guests for a Day program which offers free guided visits to the Festival for community groups.

Organizers are still hard at work on Festival site clean-up and tear-down, which continues for weeks after the audience has gone home.

Total paid and unpaid attendance including volunteers, performers, vendors and other guests of the Festival was also a record at 64,145.