If you're new to Yellowknife you've probably heard a lot of talk about our upcoming music festival, Folk on the Rocks, voted one of the top 10 music festivals in Canada.
If you're an old timer then you've likely been watching the forecast to see exactly what kind of weekend to expect this year.
It looks like the weather might hold out for the coming weekend of entertainment, but go prepared all the same for the possibility of rain, sun, bugs and a deep unquenchable thirst as you kick up some dust dancing to some big name talents at the numerous stages at the Folk site.
This year's lineup includes indie rock band Wintersleep, Snotty Nose Rez kids (guaranteed to get the dust flying), our own homegrown Leela Gilday and West Coast children's musician Ginalina, just to name a few. The good people on the Folk board never fail to present an epic lineup of musicians and performers for kids and adults alike.
This year sees the SASS (Subarctic Safety Squad) out again dressed in their purple shirts to aid and assist in providing a safe space for all festival goers. There are also a number of water stations around the festival site to recharge your reusable water bottles. Single-use water bottles are discouraged at the festival site – let's do our part in reducing, reusing and recycling to keep our great festival site pristine for the future.
The good people at Folk have also made available a space for breastfeeding mothers with a tent where you can go to get out of the weather, rain or shine, to care for your little ones or get some quiet time. There's a first aid tent by the beer gardens for those minor incidents and a phone charging station by the food vendors. Speaking of food, bring your appetite as there's guaranteed to be plenty of vendors to please all your tastebuds.
There will be plenty of ways to bring home memories of your festival weekend, from performer merch to the many great vendors who come out to sell their wares.
There are a number of ways to get to and from the Folk site. Please be responsible if you are spending your day at the beer gardens and that you make arrangements to get home safe. There will be buses running at various pick up spots around town and the last bus out from site leaves at 2 a.m. on Saturday and 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Don't forget to thank those volunteers out there on-site as well. They give a lot of their time in making sure the site is prepared and clean for our hundreds of visitors to slinging drinks at the beer garden and ensuring the safety of everyone taking part in the weekend.
But, most of all Folkers, have fun this weekend!