RED ROCK — It’s full folk ahead this August in Red Rock.
Organizers have rolled out a number of announcements in anticipation of the Live from the Rock Folk Festival being held at Pull-A-Log Park in Red Rock from Aug. 9-11 – including the winner of a recently held slogan contest and this year’s lineup.
The slogan contest invited locals from the region to submit their ideas for a slogan to adorn advertising for this year’s festival.
In the end, it was Thunder Bay resident, Cathy Muzzin, who won the contest with her submission “Full Folk Ahead.”
Muzzin received a pair of free tickets for her winning entry.
As for who will be gracing the stage(s) in Pull-A-Log Park this August, the Live from the Rock Blues and Folk Society revealed a fresh lineup for 2024, including returning artists such as Aleksi Campagne, Ian Tamblyn, and Connie Kaldor.
Even with these familiar faces and voices there’s still one big change in-store for festival-goers this year.
Artistic director Elly Tose spoke with great enthusiasm to Dougall Media about the upcoming festival and a new ticketing model that is set to make attending the festival a little more financially accessible – especially for those who like to plan in advance.
“We’re hoping that people are excited by it. We have three levels of advanced tickets that we’re going to offer beginning the first of April. There’s early bird pricing and the prices are actually less expensive than tickets were last year,” she said.
Starting April 1, adults can purchase early bird tickets for $75, seniors for $65, and youth (ages 13-18) for just $20.
“It’s a really great savings to buy early at the $75 rate because adult tickets will be $120 at the gate,” Tose said.
She further added that seniors pay $110 and youth pay $40 at the gate.
Early bird pricing runs throughout the month of April, until “advanced” sales from May 1 to June 30 when adult tickets increase to $90, seniors to $80, and youth to $30.
Finally, regular advance tickets will run for $105 (adults), $95 (seniors), and $40 (youth) from July 1 to Aug. 6.
Children 12 and under have free admission to the festival.
“We would really like to encourage people, you know, to get their tickets early.
“There'll be some people that come obviously to the gate that, you know, just can't decide if they're coming or not.
Maybe something's happening family-wise or they might have something else they're thinking of going and doing, so we'll still always have those last minute purchases, but having those numbers ahead of time is very helpful for us,” Tose said.
She specifically observed that infrastructural planning – how many porta-potties are needed, for example – depends on having at least a rough idea of the number of people who plan to attend.
Additionally, if you’re looking for accommodations, Pull-A-Log Park offers attendees the chance to camp overnight. Camping passes can be purchased at the main gate upon arrival for $25 – but campers 12 and under remain free-of-charge.
Tose added that those who do plan to attend this year are in for a “wonderful” time.
“It has its own unique community feel to it. It’s something very special. And, generally, if people come once they keep coming back,” she said.
“It’s very community-oriented and great for families.”
Other than music, parents and children can take advantage of “the family zone” where coordinators will be stationed to do arts, crafts, and lead supervised games.
Tose noted that while the family zone isn’t a “babysitting service” it does give kids another outlet while at the festival.
“Kids can’t always sit all day and just be entertained by music. They love the music too, but they do need other things to do,” she said.
Additionally, Parks Canada provides some programming for the festival such as morning yoga and voyageur canoe trips.
In terms of what Tose looks forward to most when festival time comes around, she and her husband make the most of the occasion with a trip on the water.
“We take our sail boat down to the festival. So I always look forward to that trip and getting there, landing in the marina and seeing everybody again, seeing where things are at with pulling all the infrastructure together.
“I love the lineup, meeting all the musicians, getting a chance to talk to them about other experiences they've had and then other people that they meet while they're at the festival. That’s a big part of it for me.
“It’s a fun festival,” she said.
Once sales are live, tickets can be purchased at www.livefromtherockfolkfestival.com/buy-tickets.