Right here, right now: ecstatic fans return to Countryfest
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/06/2022 (1501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
DAUPHIN — A VIP pass collecting dust under a fridge magnet and an emailed ticket stashed in a computer file folder hardly seem like marriage vows.
For some folks at Dauphin’s Countryfest on Thursday night though, those artifacts from 2019 and 2020 — a bygone era for many — are tangible symbols of commitment just the same.
“I’ve had them forever,” said Audrey Prokopchuk, who grabbed her VIP pass off the refrigerator Thursday and made the short drive east from her home in nearby Grandview to finally take part in Countryfest, festivities she had first planned for Canada Day weekend two years ago.
The event was wiped out in 2020 and 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a two-year shutdown of almost all large public gatherings around the world.
She’s glad it’s back, and not just because she gets to see some of the country’s top country performers in an all-Canadian weekend.
“(Countryfest) is like a big family. You get to know everybody in your section of the grandstand,” Prokopchuk said of the weekend experience.
Gloria Spiess and Judy Dalgliesh were part of a large group of pals from Neepawa who were keen to see Charlie Major and mark Countryfest’s long-awaited return.
“It’s great. It’s time,” Spiess said, adding they figure they’ve attended 25 previous Countryfests.
Organizers offered refunds but Prokopchuk, Spiess and Dalgliesh were among the few thousand Countryfest devotees who chose to roll over their tickets for two years and support the event — for better or worse, for richer or poorer — instead of cashing them in.
When Countryfest announced Canada’s longest running country music festival would return in 2022, Prokopchuk couldn’t wait to return to “the hill,” the huge wooden amphitheatre at the Selo Ukraina site south of Dauphin that is both a Manitoba landmark and a keystone of the country music industry.
The list of those who have performed here is as star-studded as it is long, and it has been a proving ground for most of the artists on this year.
“She was ecstatic, and she’s still ecstatic and she’ll be ecstatic all weekend,” said Raymond Garand of Pine Falls of Prokopchuk, a longtime friend.
“I’m having a great time meeting friends and making new ones,” she said.
Garand and Prokopchuk hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years prior to meeting up for a special acoustic set from Major held for VIP holders who hung onto their weekend passes, which would cost $465 for the weekend if they weren’t sold out long ago.
They were among countless folks who were reacquainting themselves with old friends over a cold beer or vodka cooler at picnic tables set up beside the Bell MTS stage.
“You’re going to meet a lot of nice people, down-to-earth people who are here to get the most out of life,” said Garand, who works in construction.
While the mainstage hosts the official beginning of Countryfest today through Sunday, with stars such as Paul Brandt, Dallas Smith, Dean Brody and Johnny Reid taking the stage, the country-fair atmosphere at the top of the hill has been the home for the Thursday night launch for years.
It was there where Major and his band performed for the kickoff party, joined later by Alberta singer-songwriter Corb Lund.
Major also performed an early acoustic set for about 250 VIP pass holders, a reward for those who stick by the organization in tough times.
One of his lyrics fit the historic evening like a well-worn Stetson.
“Nothing could be better than you and me together, right here, right now.”
alan.small@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter:@AlanDSmall
Alan Small
Reporter
Alan Small was a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the last being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Alan Small
Reporter
Alan Small was a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the last being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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