A three-night and two-day event usually held the second weekend of August, the RFF attracts more than 35,000 people.
“Newman’s First Annual Folk Festival” was held from March 14 to 16, 1969, at the Campion-Newman Centre, a cafeteria in Campion College.
[6] Humphrey and the Dumptrucks[7] from Saskatoon and Roberta Nichol[8] from Regina were among the “35 modern Canadian groups” to perform, as described on the festival poster.
[6] Ken Chesko, Terry Yuzik and Dick Jack started the Regina Guild of Folk Music.
[11] The Regina Guild of Folk Arts (not “Music”) was registered as a non-profit corporation in Saskatchewan on Feb. 7, 1975.
Its objectives were “to preserve and to promote the folk arts in its traditional and modern definition primarily in Regina, Saskatchewan,” and “to educate the people of Regina as to folk traditions in the arts upon which their lifestyles are based by means deemed by the directors.” Richard Wegrzyn, Peter Sawchyn, Peter Hilsden, Gayle Warren (now Bryanton) and Craig Mahood applied for incorporation and were its first directors.
[10] It was hosted at the University of Regina in various locations: the Newman Centre at the year-old Campion College in 1969[15] and the Education Auditorium (1970, 1973, 1975, 1981–84) on the newer south Regina campus; and the Fine Arts Building (1976–80) on the old campus (the former Normal School, and the current Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios or Soundstage).
Even in that first year, “after two days (Friday and Saturday) of near perfect weather, the festival site was swept with high winds and rain on Sunday.”[21] In 1993, the “steady rain and strong winds often made the experience feel like standing in the bow of a freighter fighting through a storm in the North Atlantic.”[22] In 2007, City and Colour was cancelled on the mainstage due to a storm.
[27][28][29] Today, the Regina Folk Festival charges admission for its evening shows, by single-night ticket or weekend pass.
To draw a larger audience, organizers opted to offer free admission to the festival, now located in Victoria Park.
“(Cancelling) gives us the chance to clear up this situation and go into 1995 with a good, workable plan.” A donation from ticket sales to the musical Hair, which toured to the Centre of the Arts in late April 1994, helped pay down more than $5,000 of its debt, and organizers felt confident they would return in 1995.
[39] “$10 doesn’t come anywhere close to covering the actual cost,” organizer Keith Fortowsky told the Leader-Post.
“But 40 bucks a night would be a ridiculous cost.”[38] “The reintroduction of a nominal gate admission for evening concerts could go a long way in addressing financial issues,” Norm Walker wrote in the 1995 program.
[43][44] Butel told the Leader-Post prior to the 2018 festival, “The diversity of the audience we see during the day is much greater than what we see at night.
[47] With the official opening of the City Square Plaza (adjacent to Victoria Park’s north side) in 2012,[48] the arts’ and vendor markets had room to expand.
The 2018 festival had 18 food vendors[49] — including Afghan Cuisine,[50] Bon Burger, Michael’s Coffee Shop & Bakery, Selam Ethiopian Restaurant, and Malinche — and more than 29 arts vendors[51]— including Mortise and Tenon, Kat Cadegan Jewellery, and Naked Kitty Naturals.
[52] In 2016, the RFF implemented a new greening initiative, with volunteers specifically overseeing recycling, composting and waste.
[53][54] Year-round, the RFF relies on some 800 volunteers to help run concert series and the festival weekend.
[57][58][59] In 2019, Winterruption’s five-night series had one show per night, including an evening devoted to spoken-word poetry, featuring Word Up Regina performers, Zoey Roy and Shane Koyczan.
Some past performers include:[62][63] Walk Off The Earth Tanya Tagaq Jan Randall Neko Case Dakhabrakha Michael Franti and Spearhead Tegan and Sara David Essig Holly Arntzen Jim Payne Colleen Peterson Buffy Sainte-Marie Begonia William Prince k.d.
lang The Barr Brothers Vox Sambou Terra Lightfoot Blue Rodeo Kobo Town Lisa LeBlanc Serena Ryder Mavis Staples Emmylou Harris Blind Boys of Alabama Hawksley Workman Corb Lund Band The Sadies Rae Spoon Jordan Cook Spirit of the West Humphrey and the Dumptrucks Roberta Nichol Bob Evans Utah Phillips Dave McLean The Irish Rovers Valdy Connie Kaldor The 2019 festival line-up unveiling is to occur on March 13, 2019, at the RFF’s “50th birthday bash” at The Artesian in Regina.