Folk festival’s daytime crowds dipped under scorching sun
Record-breaking temperatures challenged even the most dedicated Regina Folk Festival goers this past weekend.
The heat stunted daytime attendance while evening attendance was up, said Sandra Butel, artistic director and CEO of the RFF.
The daytime temperature reached a stifling 41.3 C on Saturday.
“I think the heat was the overall contributing factor because ... people that had any issues with heat just stayed away until later in the evenings,” she said.
“Nighttime numbers were up significantly, about 30 per cent in ticket sales from last year, but definitely we saw less people out during the day.”
The Friday night show nearly sold out, and Saturday and Sunday sales were similar to previous years, she said.
The first aid team was kept busier than normal as a number of RFF volunteers and visitors struggled with heat-related issues, said Butel, but they didn’t mind.
“They were very excited about that because it gave them opportunity to help as many people as possible,” she said.
“Things were in place to take care of people and the systems worked very well, so we’re very pleased with how everything went,” she continued.
One of the festival’s most popular events was the workshop with Bruce Cockburn on Sunday night.
“It had people that were lined up all the way back to the street,” said Butel.
“I think that was the most attended workshop we’ve ever had,” she added.
Michael Franti’s yoga session was also a big hit, with around 300 people participating.
Festival takedown was expected to be wrapped up by 6 p.m. Monday, with volunteers grateful for the cooler weather as they returned Victoria Park back to normal.
“(It’s) making their job easier,” said Butel, “so they’re quite relieved and it looks like it’s going really well.”