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In pictures: Fifty years of Folk Fest By: Photography by the Winnipeg Free Press Posted: 1:00 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 10, 2025 Last Modified: 12:28 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 11, 2025

The Winnipeg Folk Festival celebrates its 50th year running in 2025, and the Free Press has been there since Day 1.

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The Winnipeg Folk Festival celebrates its 50th year running in 2025, and the Free Press has been there since Day 1.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/07/2025 (365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival celebrates its 50th year running in 2025, and the Free Press has been there since Day 1.

Here is a collection of photos from the earliest days to today, commemorating the past five decades of festivities at Birds Hill Park and the community that resulted.

Performers at the first Winnipeg Folk Festival in August 1974. (John Bachmann)

Heat failed to deter faithful festival-goers on July 10, 1976. (Dave Johnson / Free Press files)

This aerial view shows some of the thousands of music fans who flocked to Birds Hill Provincial Park to attend the fourth annual Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1977. More than 24,000 people attended the festival. Organizers said the three-day event had become the largest folk festival in North America. (Dave Bonner / Free Press files)

Aerial view of the Winnipeg Folk Festival grounds on July 11, 1977. (Free Press files)

A square dancing workshop on August 15, 1979. (Paul Deleski / Free Press files)

A sea of people watch and listen at the main stage on Friday, July 14, 1980. 30,000 people were expected to attend the festival that weekend. (Free Press files)

A festival-goer takes in the tunes on July 14, 1980. (Free Press files)

A family attempts to beat the heat on July 12, 1982. (Jim Wiley / Free Press files)

Scott Johnson, 27, of Oregon and Ruth Dixon, 32, of Minnesota were married on July 12, 1982 in a tent before 300 spectators at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The couple, assisted in their vows by Kent Militzer and his wife Jan, met at the festival several years before. They've been promised a festival pass on their 50th anniversary. (Jim Wiley / Free Press files)

Artis the Spoon Man blows bubbles at the audience from the main stage of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Artis, of Seattle, Wash., was one of many performers who travelled to Winnipeg to take part in the 10th annual festival on July 10, 1983.

Performers on stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on July 6, 1983. (Dave Landry / Free Press files)

Berne Thury from Minneapolis, Minnesota relaxes at the main stage on July 9, 1983. (Ken Gigliotti / Free Press files)

Nicholas Laporte, 4, gives his mother Mette a hand with a foot wash during the Winnipeg Folk Festival on Saturday, July 9, 1983. (Stu Phillips / Free Press files)

Festival-goers find refuge from the heat on July 9, 1983. (Stu Phillips / Free Press files)

A daytime stage is seen in 1983. (Free Press files)

Al Simmons, in usual sedate attire, gives a child a lift on his horse bike on July 17, 1984. (Ken Gigliotti / Free Press files)

Sandy Anderson and husband Gene, from Frazee, Minn., keep dry beneath a canvas during a downpour at the 1984 festival, while son Mitch sits on the ground at centre. (Ken Gigliotti / Free Press files)

David Essig performs at a workshop on July 11, 1986. (Phil Hossack / Free Press files)

Joel Bailey, 10, finds he has to fight the forces of gravity to complete his world tour of continents marked on the earth ball at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on July 12, 1986. John Radcliffe monitors the young traveller's progress. (Phil Hossack / Free Press files)

A member of Lights in a Fat City plays a drum at the festival on July 8, 1989. The group was known for playing on instruments from all over the world, alongside custom built devices made from recycled scrap metals and bamboo. (Ken Gigliotti / Free Press files)

Kevin Muir blows giant bubbles while sister Carolyn watches on July 8, 1988. (Dave Johnson / Free Press files)

Scruj MacDuhk play on a daytime stage at the festival in 1998. (Boris Minkevich / Free Press files)

Angus Grant of Shooglenifty from Scotland jams with groups Tabache and Wild Mountain Time on a Sunday, July 9, 2000. (Joe Bryksa / Free Press files)

Ariana Histed, 8, plays in the crowds with a twirling ribbon at the Folk Festival on July 9, 2004. (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files)

Festival volunteers Kim Flynn and Sam Owens take a break from the heat on Friday, July 7, 2005. (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files)

Two women dance in the mud at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on a Sunday evening, July 10, 2005. (Boris Minkevich / Free Press files)

Crowds at the Little Stage on the Prairie on Saturday. July 9, 2011. (Hadas Parush / Free Press files)

A festival-goer plays with devil sticks as the sun sets on the second last day of the 2012 festival. (Melissa Tait / Free Press files)

Twin eight-year-old brothers Ethan and Kieran Wiebe practice their hand stands prior to Beth Orton performing on Friday, July 6, 2012. (Trevor Hagan / Free Press files)

The crowd cheers on Feist as she performs on the Main Stage at the 39th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival at Birds Hill Park Wednesday, July 4, 2012. (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files)

The sun sets on the last day of the festival on Sunday, July 8, 2012. (John Woods / Free Press files)

Festival-goers groove while Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros play on Thursday, July 9, 2015. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

Kacey Musgraves closes out the Winnipeg Folk Festival Sunday, July 14, 2019. (Mike Sudoma / Free Press files)

People rush to claim spots on the field at the main stage on July 9, 2022. (Daniel Crump / Free Press files)

Kat Rother dances as Finjan performs on the Big Bluestem stage on Sunday, July 9, 2023. (John Woods / Free Press files)

Juno Award-winning artist Elisapie performs at the main stage Friday, July 12, 2024. (Nic Adams / Free Press)

Lucinda Williams performs on opening night of the 49th edition of the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 2024. (Nic Adams / Free Press files)

People wait in the merch line to snap up 50th anniversary merchandise on the first day of the 2025 festival. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

Five-year-old Mariel Ladouceur, (left) and Lauriane Bellefeuille, age four, listen to the music at Folk Fest on July 10, 2025. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

The crowd listens to Allison Russell on the main stage as the sun sets on July 10, 2025. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

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