Calgary Folk Fest responds to Tarp and Beer Gardens feedback

The Calgary Folk Fest is a staple event for many Calgarians, young and old. Over the years, and as other Festivals have gained popularity, there have been complaints launched at the Festival for the allowance given to people placing tarps at the mainstage and the size of the beer gardens.

With the Festival just over a month away, the Festival released a message to Festival attendees letting them know the changes they have made this year to accommodate the feedback.

From The Calgary Folk Festival:

Folk Festival culture is unique and perhaps even special. The mainstage is our largest daily evening focal point, boasting a smorgasbord of styles and genres, from upstarts to icons and acoustic to raucous. The combination of seating on tarps/blankets/chairs plus standing/dancing areas is the most egalitarian way to accommodate our diverse, generational and open-minded audience of 12,000.

Over the years, we’ve received feedback from you about this area. 75% of the audience likes how the mainstage field is set up, but some have been vocal about wanting to change this set up to accommodate more dancing.

We’ve heard you and have investigated a number of options. Having the standing area at the front would impede sight lines as our stage isn’t high enough. So here are our solutions for 2015:

• expansion and reconfiguration of the south side standing/dancing area
• guidelines for the homesteading (tarp) areas and enforcement of a 6′ X 8′ max tarp size. A 6′ X 8′ tarp comfortably seats 4 to 6 people, so we’ll encourage smaller groups to use a smaller footprint
• reminding folks to share space so that artists aren’t looking out at lots of empty spaces when people are away from their tarps for extended periods
• Keep in mind there’s usually an excess of space on the north side standing/dancing area.

The twilight (stage 4) stage offers a programming and cultural alternative to the mainstage and with a different vibe. The majority of the audience there stands or dances.

We’ve also tried to address some of your feedback about our beer garden this year. Its popularity has led to crowding and lineups in the past. This year will see an expansion to the area along with an increase in the number of beverage taps. We are also using slightly smaller tables to try to comfortably accommodate more bodies within the area. We’ve set some new service goals and hope to quench your thirst in a speedier manner. Each year we review options with the site. Being on an island, we have constraints on everything from electricity to water to trees that require consideration. Down the road we are looking into the possibilities of expanded site licensing.

We want your Festival experience to continue to be fantastic. Keep your suggestions coming.