The Winnipeg Folk Festival is one of the most important international folk festivals and a major event on Canada’s cultural calendar. Now in its 34th year, this celebration of people and music attracts over 60,000 patrons including 2,000 committed volunteers for four days every year. The beautiful Provincial Park setting augments this spirit, and is a key ingredient in its success.
The Site Master Plan is founded on three major organizational concepts:
- A broad main pedestrian street ‘venue’;
- Distinctive constellations of stage venues;
- A customized main stage amphitheatre, creating a truly outstanding outdoor performance venue.
Furthermore, the plan is conceived to respond to many specific technical and program requirements, including:
- Incrementally restoring damaged and overused areas and carefully placing new venues;
- Enhancing audience experiences;(sightlines, orientation and comfort)
- Resolving systemic functional issues and risks such as waterproofing and service access;
- Addressing key environmental issues; and
- Providing the flexibility for the festival to operate in different ways, but above all, to do what it does as smoothly and as elegantly as possible.
The Site Master Plan provides the Festival with room to grow and evolve, while preserving the qualities that have made it great and advancing the Festival’s mission, “to create experiences of discovery and learning through the celebration of people and music.”
