Folk on the Rocks 2022 is almost here!
For over forty years, Folk on the Rocks has been one of the biggest events of the year for the City of Yellowknife. Now, after having to cancel the event in 2020, and hold a greatly subdues event in 2021, FOTR is ready to come back at max capacity for all to enjoy.
Carly McFadden, the Executive & Artistic Director for the festival, shared a few of the things that she is most looking forward to.
“We have a live mural being painted on site by Brian Kowikchuk, who’s an artist visiting from Inuvik, and that’s in partnership with Strong People, Strong Communities. I got a glimpse of the sketch earlier this week, and it is absolutely stunning. We’ve also got a couple of surprise performances that we haven’t listed yet, that’ll be coming out in the next 24 to 48 hours. And then of course, we’re always excited for Sunday night on the main stage. We know Joel Plaskett is gonna be amazing, and the Dene Drummers following him to close out the weekend. Really, there’s so much to be excited about.”
Regarding the previous years, McFadden explained that the 2021 event was kept almost entirely local, and that they were one of the lucky few performances in the entire country that could perform at all. That level of restriction still made the performances special in their own way. McFadden recalls seeing tears in the eyes of the guests, and in her own eyes throughout the weekend. Things are back to how they used to be for this year, and while masks and hand sanitizer will still be offered to the public, there are no COVID restrictions in place for this year’s event.
McFadden had some other unique attractions to share.
“We’re currently running a youth camp during the week which started on Monday with Northern Mosaic Network, and Kimmortal is actually facilitating that with I believe the Queer Youth and their allies, and so they’ll be performing on Saturday, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what comes out of that performance.”
McFadden finished by sharing her thoughts on why so many people across the City and surrounding area get so excited for Folk on the Rocks.
“It’s been going on for a long time, so for a lot of people it’s a tradition. this is year forty two, so a lot of folks that have grown up here have been going since they were children, or volunteering. It’s a part of their summertime routine. For new people coming into town, it’s a great way to make friends, especially if you choose to volunteer, or come as an audience member, and not a lot of artists are able to tour this far north, so it’s an opportunity for us to get some artists up here that maybe we wouldn’t see otherwise.”
Folk on the Rocks officially begins on Friday afternoon with a “Warm the Rocks” performance at the Somba Ke’ Civic Plaza. Tickets for the event are still available at www.folkontherocks.com
