Stop #3: Calgary Folk Music Festival

I can’t believe we’ve never been to Calgary Folk Music Festival before!

Some neat things about the festival:

1-It takes place on Prince’s Island Park, in the middle of the Bow River. I didn’t expect such a lovely setting!

2-There are TONS of food vendors (a whole “marketplace” full of them), and lots of tantalizing choices for every meal.

3-The festival features activities and installations to check out in between your favorite acts. Some of the coolest were the yoga sessions, the Calgary Public Library’s “living library,” and “SQUEEEEQUE,” an art installation featuring an igloo made of speaker boxes!

Parker and I checked out a number of stellar acts, our top picks being:

1-MAN MAN!

This eclectic band from Philadelphia had the crowd dancing frantically from beginning to end. The music was great, but the performance was even better, featuring a trumpet, flute, sousaphone, guitar, bass, drums, xylophone, a million other instruments, and of course a generous helping of feathers and confetti!

2-Corb Lund!

How could we not love this Alberta icon? The highlight was when Corb announced that we’d gotten to the serious part of the show, and hoped we’d all bear with him. Parker decided to take that moment to sneak off to the bathroom, only to come running back a moment later when Corb started playing “Rye Whiskey!” Serious stuff, indeed!

3-Konono No.1!

We HAD to stay till the last minute to catch these guys before our flight home. Sure, we saw them in Winnipeg, but these electric thumb-piano masters from the Democratic Republic of Congo must be enjoyed whenever possible! We danced until the very last second of their set, and then ran to catch a cab and fly home. Can’t wait to see them again in Ottawa!

Now we’ve got a weekend off until Edmonton Folk Music Festival, on our home turf! Can’t wait, it’s going to be a blast. Hope to see you all in the beer gardens!

If you want to live vicariously through Parker and Jenna this summer, follow Big Rock Brewery on Twitter or visit the Grasshoppin’ Contest Facebook Page.

But, if you want to BE Parker and Jenna next summer, enter the Grasshoppin’ Contest!