Countryfest attendance sees decline

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2019 (2646 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Attendance was down for the 2019 edition of Dauphin’s Countryfest, organizers say.

Approximately 9,000 people attended the three-day country music festival June 28-30, “down a couple thousand from the year before, from the good years,” Countryfest general manager Rob Waloschuk said Tuesday.

The smaller crowds, in turn, may have contributed to a lower number of calls to police, according to RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine.

She said there were 176 calls for service this year, compared to 197 in 2018.

Countryfest runs its own volunteer first-aid team and hires an ambulance for private use every year.

Neither Courchaine nor Waloschuk could point to any cannabis-related issues during the first Countryfest since legalization.

A spokesperson from Prairie Mountain Health region said it reported no unusual events at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre emergency department over the weekend.

“The Dauphin emergency department is mindful of events taking place that may involve many visitors to the community and plans accordingly,” the region said in a statement Tuesday.

While some bad weather Saturday temporarily derailed events, Waloschuk said only Canadian singer Terri Clark’s performance was interrupted.

The festival has been criticized in the past for the large amount of waste left behind by guests, prompting the launch this year of a pilot project designed to encourage visitors to clean up. More than 300 of the 3,500 campsites participated in the Trash for Treats program, in which those dropping off bags of garbage and recycling were entered to win prizes.

Waloschuk said the prizes ranged from Tim Hortons products to meet-and-greets with certain performing artists. One lucky winner got to meet quadruple-platinum country star Jason Aldean.

— Brandon Sun