Edmonton Folk Music Festival

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The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is an annual 4 day outdoor event held in Gallagher Park in just across the river from downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It features performances from folk musicians. Beginning in 1980, the festival continues to draw many people from around the world as both spectators and performers. The festival occurs annually on the second weekend in August. The current producer of the festival is Terry Wickham.

The Festival showcases celtic, bluegrass, blues, gospel, roots, world beat and singer/songwriters, with some country and R&B thrown into the mix. It manages to combine the talents of these quality folk music artists, with their diverse origins and musical traditions, in workshop sessions, which enable performers to jam together in front of an audience. The main attractions of the festival are the Main Stage performances, which happen on each of the four nights and go on late into the night. Some of the previous main stage performers include Great Big Sea, Oysterband, Loreena McKennitt, Norah Jones, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, and Michael Franti.

What really sets the EFMF apart is the army of volunteers who make it happen every year. They do everything from picking garbage to working as stage hands. There are approximately 2000 people on the voluteer list each year. Many are returning for their tenth and fifteenth festivals, and some come from as far away as Scotland to volunteer. There are about a dozen people who have been there from the start in 1980. In return for their minimum sixteen hours of labour they are fed, and fed well courtesy of the volunteer festival kitchen crew, get admission to the whole show, and are treated to three late night parties featuring performers from the festival.

The EFMF is held on the banks of the North Saskatchewan river. During the winter the area is a ski club. The main stage and the six session stages are each at the bottom of a ski hill. The mainstage audience seating is a natural amphitheatre with great sightlines. The skyline of downtown Edmonton acts as a backdrop for the stage. On balmy summer nights, the sun sets right behind the city. It's a magic view.

The quality of the artistic direction, the venue, and the commitment of the volunteers work together to provide the festival goer with an enriching, low hassle experience. If you're going to be in northern Alberta in August, you have to take in the EFMF.