What to know about Edmonton’s 46th annual Folk Fest

The rain wasn't enough to dampen excitement for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, which begins Thursday.

This weekend marks the 46th-annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the city’s not-for-profit live music event dedicated to bringing in the best of folk music from around the world.

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The festival runs from Aug. 7 to 10 at Gallagher Park and features artists like AHI, John Butler, Mt. Joy, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and many, many, many more. It runs rain or shine – and there may be a bit of rain this weekend.

While tickets are now sold out, it’s worth noting for those not attending that the curb lanes in both directions between 92 Street and 95 Street will be closed for pedestrian safety.

For those attending, or who are just curious, here are some other details about how to get to Folk Fest.

Parking

Festival officials released a traffic advisory recommending that Folk Fest attendees should take public transit or arrange for a pick-up and drop-off in the designated area on 97 Avenue just outside the main gate.

There is no parking on festival grounds, and Tag & Tow will be in “full effect” throughout Cloverdale.

Parking restrictions are also in place in Strathearn and Bonnie Doon.

Edmontonians who bike to the festival can lock up behind the Muttart Conservatory.

There is free parking available at Davies Transit Centre, which is a short LRT ride from the festival.

For those who don’t want to worry about driving at all, Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) is increasing its ride frequency for Valley Line Southeast the entire weekend to help get festivalgoers to and from safely.

Here’s the Valley Line schedule:

• Thursday and Friday: From beginning of service to 6:30 p.m., frequency will continue normally. After 6:30 p.m., trains will run every 10 minutes.
• Saturday: Trains run every 10 minutes all day.
• Sunday: From the beginning of service to 2:30 p.m., trains will run at normal Sunday frequency of every 15 minutes. From 2:30 p.m. to the end of service, trains will run every 10 minutes.

Regular transit fares apply, and you’re encouraged to buy tickets or get your Arc card sorted out in advance. Arc passes are also available for three days if you’re planning to only use ETS for the festival.

Traffic and construction

The Low Level Bridge rehabilitation is underway and will impact travel in and out of downtown. The southbound bridge is currently closed to everyone.

If you’re leaving downtown, continue south using the northbound Low Level Bridge. If you’re entering, you’ll hit a detour using the James MacDonald and 98 Avenue Bridge.

Pets and Animals

They’re not allowed at Folk Fest with the exception of service animals.

More details can be found on the official website for Folk Fest.