Sunday sellout helps folk fest reach second-highest attendance

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This article was published 11/07/2023 (1153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Sunday sellout made the 2023 Winnipeg Folk Festival the second-most attended in its 48-year history.

The final-day lineup, which included the War on Drugs and Vance Joy as its headliners, brought 18,000 people to the festival’s venue at Birds Hill Provincial Park, forcing organizers to stop selling tickets for Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

The festival said its overall attendance was 74,500 for the four-day festival, up 500 from 2022, which had held the No. 2 spot.

The all-time festival attendance record is 76,000, which was set in 2019.

The number of fans pushed the festival’s infrastructure to its limits, leading to long lines for food and beverages, especially in the festival’s beer tent, as well as its many portable toilets.

In a Monday release, the festival said it had been monitoring how well the site and services provided could cope with the volume of people.

The 2023 event overcame some obstacles on its way to the strong attendance figures.

A thunderstorm on Thursday evening caused a one-hour delay that shortened local singer-songwriter William Prince’s early evening set.

On Saturday, the festival also had to make a late change to its mainstage lineup after Sierra Ferrell, the American country singer, announced she was cancelling a week’s worth of appearances, including at the folk fest.

Festival organizers turned to Winnipeg artist Boy Golden to fill her mainstage spot prior to Charley Crockett’s set.

The festival had already been forced to add Gregory Alan Isakov to Saturday’s schedule after Canadian cult-country singer Orville Peck announced in June he was taking time off from performing to address his mental health.

Also on Saturday evening, a STARS air ambulance landed near the folk festival’s campground to treat and airlift a 24-year-old man to Health Sciences Centre. He had suffered serious injuries in a propane barbecue accident.

The festival awarded its Glass Banjo Award to Lisa Sinnicks, its volunteer co-ordinator, and mainstage manager Lloyd Peterson. It also honoured 16 volunteers, whose service to the event ranged from 20 to 40 years.

Next year’s folk fest takes place July 11-14, 2024.