Festival Etiquette
Advance seating
People who have purchased advance tickets receive priority seating at the Canmore Folk Festival. Those who wish to claim seats early should line up at the advance ticket gate before 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday. (Warning: lineups often start to form hours before the gate opens.) No one can claim seating space before the piper pipes the queue from the gate and across the soccer field. Piping takes place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday.
A separate line-up at the gate will form for people who are purchasing tickets at the gate. They will be allowed onto the grounds at 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday and Monday. You must be physically present to receive a wristband at either gate. You cannot send a friend to buy your ticket for you.
Dancing
We trying something new for this year to address the varied requests we have had from our loyal audience.
On Saturday and Sunday we will have a clearly marked transition zone where you are able to place a tarp (max. 6X8 ft) and guarantee your sitting area up until the end of the second last act (approx. 9:45 pm.). On Saturday and Sunday evening only the last acts will be bands that we feel will get people up and moving, dancing and shaking. At around 9:45 pm. we will take a quick break to allow those in the transition zone to gather things up and get ready to stand up, dance, move back or to the sides while we invite others into the newly freed up space to “share the love of music”. Monday there will be no transition zone and you will be able to reserve your tarp space for the whole day and evening.
Dancing is encouraged whenever the mood strikes, but during the bulk of the festival we want to keep a clear view for our seated audience members and reserve dancing for the dance area only.
We are trying to accommodate different expectations of our festival. The main expectation we all have of each other is mutual respect. Be nice to each other, be careful as you move through the crowd and don’t step on people or people’s things. Folk music is for the folks.
Tarps/Blankets/Chairs
Your tarp/blanket site is limited to 6X8 feet. Festival-style chairs are allowed throughout the main stage seating area, but are restricted to 24 inches high, from the ground to the top of the chair back, including a maximum leg length of eight inches. Special areas are designated to the rear of the crowd for taller lawn chairs. Any complaints about chair height should be directed to our Security volunteers, who can be identified by their red T-shirts.
There is no reserved seating at the side stages. Please do not leave your tarps or chairs unattended in these areas.
Please bring individual rain apparel, as large “group tarps” meant to cover whole groups interfere with the ability of those sitting behind them to see the stage.
Pets
Pets are not allowed on the festival grounds, as per municipal bylaws. Please arrange to leave your pet at home or with friends. You may NOT tie your pet to the fence, and we hope you will not leave it unattended in your vehicle.
Bikes
Bicycle parking is provided just inside the main gate, in a well-marked space between two of the school portables. Please lock your bike, as this area is not patrolled by Security staff. Please do not lock your bike to the park fence.
Naughty bits
No alcohol or other drugs will be permitted on the site.
No unauthorized video or audio recording is allowed.
We ask that you turn off cell phones during concerts.
Smoking
If you wish to smoke, please move away from the audience and stages, as well as from food vendors and children’s areas. We recommend that you “pinch and pocket” your butts until you can dispose of them in one of the provided “butt out” pails. Thank you for considering other people’s health and comfort and our park environment.
Food
You are welcome to bring your own picnic lunch to the festival, but security staff may inspect your cooler at the gate for alcoholic beverages. Please adhere to our Zero Waste policies and pack your food in reusable or recyclable containers, or take your garbage home with you.
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