Festival FAQ

During the festival (August 8-11):

• Drop off or claim lost and found items at the Information Tent (look for the big balloons)

Following the festival (August 12-23):

• Contact the Edmonton Folk Music Festival Administration Office to claim or inquire about your lost items

Inquiries can be made by phone at 780.466.0597 or by email lostandfound@edmontonfolkfest.org

All lost & found items need to be claimed by August 23rd. Items that are unclaimed will be donated to charity.

ALL WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE EDMONTON FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL RAFFLE!

EARLY BIRD (Draw Saturday, Aug 10 between 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM; all tickets sold before 9:30 PM Saturday are entered in this draw and the Main Draw) 

• Edmonton Oilers: WINNING TICKET #9065 The winner will be able to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers at two 2019/2020 regular season home games at the beautiful Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton. Even better, three friends can join you at each game, with seating for 4 at a luxury Loge Table! Courtesy of Ticketmaster Canada LP. Package Valued at $3200.00
• Silver Tarp Package: WINNING TICKET #3139 The winner and a guest will enjoy the 2020 Edmonton Folk Music Festival with two full VIP backstage passes, second placement of their tarp on the Main Stage hill and two Edmonton Folk Music Festival chairs! Arrive in comfort and style and prepared for any weather with 2 Arc’teryx jackets: a Zeta LT Jacket and an Atom LT Hoody, courtesy of Arc’teryx West Edmonton (some restrictions may apply). Complete your festival look with a pair of beautiful sunnies or eyeglasses from Bailey Nelson. Package Valued at $2270.00

MAIN DRAW (Draw Sunday, August 11 between 9:45 PM and 10:15 PM. All tickets purchased before 8:45 PM Sunday will be entered in the Main Draw) 

• SPECIAL DRAW: Golden Tarp Prize Package: WINNING TICKET #8654 The winner and a guest will enjoy two full VIP backstage passes for the 2020 Edmonton Folk Music Festival with the best seats on the hill! The Golden tarp winner receives first placement of their tarp at the Main Stage and two Edmonton Folk Music Festival chairs! This red-carpet treatment includes four night’s Fairmont View Accommodation at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald and valet parking during the 2020 EFMF Festival weekend (Thursday through Sunday nights), donated by Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Be folk fest ready in your two new Arc’teryx jackets, a Zeta LT Jacket and an Atom LT Hoody, courtesy of Arc’teryx West Edmonton (some restrictions may apply). Complete your festival look with some beautiful new eyewear from Bailey Nelson. Package Valued at $3776.00
• 1st PRIZE: EIA Icelandair Travel Prize: WINNING TICKET #8772 The winner receives two non-stop, round-trip Saga class tickets from Edmonton to Iceland or anywhere in Europe Icelandair flies (no blackout dates; some restrictions apply). EIA Airport City package (7 days complimentary valet parking, Plaza Premium 2-hour Lounge pass, two 20-minute massage vouchers and $100 in Outlet Collection gift cards) included! Donated by the Edmonton International Airport.  If that’s not enough, thanks to McBain Camera, you’ll be able to save all the memories of your trip with your new Nikon D5300 DSLR camera with 18-55mm AF-P VR and DX 70-300mm VR Lenses. This compact, lightweight, rugged and comfortable camera comes with bag, extra battery and remote. Travel in style with a new pair of sunglasses, courtesy of Bailey Nelson. Package valued at $7199.90
• 2nd PRIZE: Folk Music Galore: WINNING TICKET #2065 The winner will receive two tickets to 15 pre-selected live music shows in the Edmonton area throughout 2019/2020 capped off with two 4-day passes to the 2020 Edmonton Folk Music Festival! Tickets for two at the Arden Theatre (5 shows), Live at Winspear (3 shows), the Northern Lights Folk Club (3 shows), and Festival Place (4 shows) have been reserved for this lucky winner. Want more? Enjoy dinner out before the show at 4 great local eateries near the individual venues, with four separate $100 gift cards. In case you want more music, the winner will enjoy 10 CDs, selected especially for you, from the 2019 Edmonton Folk Music Festival line-up! Sit in comfort with two Edmonton Folk Music Festival stadium cushions. Tickets (and Arden Swag) donated by the Arden Theatre, Live at the Winspear, the Northern Lights Folk Club and Festival Place. Package valued at $2600.00
• 3^rd PRIZE: Eastman E1SS-LTD limited-edition acoustic guitar and 3 months of lessons! WINNING TICKET #7493 This Eastman guitar is made in the classic American guitar building tradition. One of only 250 pieces made worldwide, this beautiful guitar features a solid Adirondack Spruce top with Sapele back and sides, hand scalloped braces to achieve maximum top vibration, an ebony fingerboard and bridge and more. And, it comes with a hard shell case. Start to become a guitar whiz with 3 months of lessons at Acoustic Music Shop! All courtesy of Acoustic Music Shop.  Valued at $1638.00

TICKETS ARE SOLD AT THE FESTIVAL ONLY AT THE RAFFLE BOOTH AND FROM ROVING RAFFLE SELLERS

1 FOR $3 OR 2 FOR $5 

RAFFLE LICENCE #534242

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is always the weekend following the August long weekend.

2020 - August 6 - 9

2021 - August 5 - 8

There are two entry gates:

• Main Gate/North Gate/Bottom of Hill - 94th St & 97th Ave.
• South Gate/Top of the Hill - Corner of Connors Road & Cloverdale Hill Road

Box Office is located at the Main Gate.

Gate Opening times: 

Thursday  4:30 PM
Friday       4:30 PM
Saturday   9:30 AM
Sunday     9:30 AM

Arrive at North Gate at 94St and 97Ave or South Gate at corner of Cloverdale Road and Connors Road. Please arrive no earlier than 1 hour prior to gate opening.

Please respect community residents by sticking to sidewalks and minimizing noise.

For information about the Gate Lottery Lineup procedure for a earlier seating selection, please click on the Gate Lottery Process tab below.

To ensure fair, orderly line-ups that create minimal intrusion and noise in the community, there is a lottery for line-up position for those who wish to line up before the gates open.

The gate lottery is not mandatory – it is used by those who want the closest seats to the main stage. 

Lottery for earlier seating selection:

1. East Lottery: Located at Stage 1 (93St & 97Ave).
2. West Lottery: Located at the Bike Lock-up (west of 96A St and 96Ave); use bike path south of Muttart Conservatory (the pyramids). There is no public parking in the neighbourhood or at the Muttart for the lottery.

Gate Lottery Procedure:

Thursday/Friday

1. Arrive between 1:30 - 2:30 PM (no earlier than 1:30PM please!); enter the corral and receive a coloured tag.
2. The colours draw starts at 2:30 PM; as each colour is announced, patrons leave the corral and line up for escorted entrance at 4PM. You can leave the line-up but must be back in line before entrance starts.

Saturday/Sunday 

1. Arrivebetween 6:30 - 7:30 AM(no earlier than 6:30AM please!). enter the corral and receive a coloured tag
2. The colours draw starts at 7:30 AM; as each colour is announced, patrons leave the corral and line up for escorted entrance at 9AM. You can leave the line-up but must be back in line before entrance starts.

Gate Lottery Rules:

Patrons who wish to participate in the lottery MUST have a festival ticket, wristband, Government ID for proof of age (for youth or senior tickets), or volunteer badge to receive a lottery tag. If you plan to participate in the lottery you should pick up your ticket ahead of time, as the Festival Box Office may not be able to accommodate you in time for the lottery.

• To participate in the lottery, you must stay in the lottery corral until the draw is completed.
• If you leave before the draw, you are ineligible to participate and will be asked to return the color tag you were given. One lottery tag for one person, and one tarp only.
• If your friend has a different place in the lottery, they cannot enter with you, they must wait their turn.

Entrance Procession:

Lottery participants will be escorted at a walking pace in groups of 30 from entry gates to the seating area. To ensure everyone’s safety, there will be no rush! 

Everyone who participates in the lottery must be considerate of our volunteers and of the community. Abuse will not be tolerated.

Thank you for your cooperation!

In the gate line up, volunteers exchange tickets for wristbands as quickly as possible. During peak times, this process may take longer. Please be considerate of the effort our volunteers are making to expedite your visit. 

4-day passes are exchanges for one wristband for the whole weekend. Single Day tickets are exchanged for single day wristbands for the day indicated on the ticket.

All four tickets (Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun) may be redeemed for a weekend wristband on the first day, or as single tickets for daily wristbands. Wristbands are not exchangeable.

Your wristband allows you to come and go from the festival and must be worn at all times. Wristbands must not be removed or tampered with. Lost wristbands can not be replaced. 

To get your wristband early and speed up the entry process out the pre-banding hours at our box office on the Ticket Info page.

Be a Good Neighbour

Folk Fest-iquette!

Each day 25 000 people come together annually at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Gallagher Park to take in some of the world's best folk music, and to have a good time. Whether catching up with friend in the Beer Garden, getting in line for a green onion cake, or taking in a performance on the hill, we want to ensure everyone is having an amazing festival experience. Here's how you can contribute:

Everyone is welcome and valued  We encourage all people at the festival to participate in a vision of inclusivity. Regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, ethnicity, religious belief, ability, colour, or other personal characteristics, we want everyone at the festival to feel safe, welcome and valued

Respect  Contribute to the discussion, share ideas, and express yourself. But please be respectful of those around you, and make sure your good time isn't coming at the expense of others. Activities (verbal or physical) causing harm to others will not be tolerated.

Talking, tarps, and dancing  

• We're here for the music. Keep your voice low and your cellphone display dimmed.
• The maximum tarp size is 8x10 feet (2.5x3 metres). Please respect everyone's space - refrain from tarp crashing, and please keep foot pathways clear. Try to use friendly discussion to sort out any boundary disputes or issues. Please take your tarp and belongings home with you each day - all items left behind will be taken to Lost and Found.
• If you're dancing, head to the sides of the stages so folks behind you can still participate while seated.

Tents and Lean-tos are for shade and rest purposes only.
They must be low profile and have to be erected past the crest of the hill so that they do not interfere with patron sight-lines.
Tents must adheere to tarp size guideline (8x10 footprint max) and be no higher that 1.5m
No guy-wires tents are allowed, tents should be pop up in nature.  
Tents must be secured to the ground.
All tents must be removed at the end of each day.

Smoking To comply with provincial laws and city bylaws, smoking is permitted in the following areas only:

• East trail (behind the beer garden) within signed area
• East side of Stage 5 

Those smoking in any other area onsite will be asked to move to a designated smoking area. Please pinch and pocket your butts.

Pitch in - Put your compostables, recyclables and garbage in appropriate bins, and pinch and pocket cigarette butts. Help us keep Gallagher Park clean!

The festival is held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in beautiful Gallagher Park » See Map

There is NO ON-SITE PARKING. Use Park & Ride, Edmonton Transit, walk, or bike. Please note that there are enforced parking restrictions in the area of Cloverdale, Strathern, and Bonnie Doon. 

Bike Lock-up Hours of Service

Please do not lock your bike in the park or surrounding community. Bike lock up is located behind the Muttart Conservatory. No supervised overnight bike parking, and no parking for motor bikes.

Park & Ride is available from the University of Alberta (See the next tab for details).

Regular transit service: Call 311 within Edmonton or 780-442-5311 from outside the city for information, or visit takeets.com.

Taxi Service: Taxis drop patrons outside the main gate on arrival. On departure, service is much faster if you go to the taxi stand on 97 Ave, no need to call a taxi.

Drop-offs:

• Main Gate - If you are getting dropped off or picked up by a rideshare such as Uber or TappCar, or from a friend or family member, you must use the designated drop off point on 98 Ave. (bottom of the hill). There is no public access into the Cloverdale community beyond that point. 
• South Gate (top of hill) - The drop off zone is at 93 St. To cross Connors Road, use the 93 St. crosswalk. NO crossing is permitted at 95 St. due to safety concerns.

Park and Ride: University of Alberta

Park in any Campus Lot (except the Jubilee lot) **UPDATE** The Education Car Park will be closed for renovation Friday, Saturday & Sunday of the Festival  Special Folk Fest parking rate is $5.50 per day. This rate is only available on weekends and after 6:00PM in Campus lots.

If you are arriving earlier on Thursday or Friday please park in The Windsor Lot (9217 116 St) as only this parkade will be programmed to accept the $5.50 rate starting at 3:00 PM. Be sure to select the Folk Fest rate.

The U of A parking operations have changed to incorporate technology. As such, it is now easy to pay using the Honk mobile app from the comfort of one's vehicle. Otherwise you can pay at the machines with credit or coin.  Remember to park first then pay. Parking via honk before you park does not guarantee you a spot.

Bus pick up – south east corner of the Butterdome (87 Ave and approx. 114 St).

Bus fare – ETS rates apply. Children 12 years and under are free. Exact cash,  ETS passes, tickets and transfers are valid for payment. Also accepted: Strathcona County and St. Albert transit passes.

Please note: bus drivers do not carry change.

Buses run every 30 minutes during the Festival. Hours of operation are:
Thursday  3:30 PM- Close
Friday       3:30 PM – Close
Saturday  8:30 AM – Close
Sunday    8:30 AM – Close

• Layered clothing
• Rain gear
• Comfortable footwear
• Sunscreen & bug spray
• Something to sit on… like a tarp! (Max. size 8'x10')
• Low-backed, low-legged chair. The maximum chair height allowed on the festival site is: back no higher than 26 inches off the ground, legs/seat no higher than 8 inches off the ground.
• Snacks & beverages – no alcohol or glass containers
• Your tickets
• Cash – many vendors are cash only

• High-backed, or regular-legged lawnchairs. The maximum chair height allowed on the festival site is: back no higher than 26 inches off the ground, legs/seat no higher than 8 inches off the ground.
• Pets of any kind
• Alcohol or illegal drugs
• Glass containers or bottles
• Professional photo, video or audio recording equipment

Note: Bag checks in effect.

Check out our ticket page!

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival has a program to accommodate patrons with physical challenges. If you have questions, concerns or require assistance, please ask for an Access Crew volunteer when you enter the festival.

Accessible parking near the Main Gate (93 & 94 St between 97 & 98 Ave) for vehicles marked with official accessible parking signs. This limited parking is first come, first served. For reliable service, Taxi and DATS vehicles drop off and pick up directly outside the Main Gate.

For patrons who have purchased a ticket and require an attendant, the attendant is admitted at no charge. For patrons who qualify for free admission, an attendant requires a ticket. 

Seating Areas: There is an accessible covered seating area next to the main stage. Most side stages also have small accessible seating area. Space in these areas is restricted to the person who requires it plus one attendant.

Hearing impairment: Magnetic induction loops have been installed for hearing assistance. Visit the Information Tent for a loop receiver (or use your T-switch hearing aid) and look for signed locations at each stage.

Visual impairment: Braille and large print schedule information is available at the Information Tent.

Yes, you can bring in your own food and non-alcoholic beverages. There are many tasty options from our vendors that should satisfy many tastes and dietary needs. See a full list of vendors here.

Mainstage:

• Thursday 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM
• Friday 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM
• Saturday 2-3 PM & 7:00 PM to 12:00 AM
• Sunday 2-3 PM and 7:00 PM to 11 PM

Side stages 

• Friday 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
• Saturday 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM & 3:00PM to 7:00 PM
• Sunday 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM & 3:00PM to 7:00 PM

How do I know what’s on when? View the full schedule here, buy a program book, or download the Edmonton Folk Music Fest app.

2019 Edmonton Folk Festival Map

• Bike lock-up
• Children's Activities
• Food Vendors
• Beer Garden
• Merchandise sales
• Firstfirst aid
• Water refill stations
• Compost and recycling stations,
• ATMs
• Morning Yoga!

Visit the info tent, purchase a program book, or download our free app for complete information.

Do you have Children? The Info tent is marked by large balloons. Show your children where to go if they are separated from you.

Lost and Found:

• During the festival - Visit the Information Tent
• Following the Festival - it takes a while to accumulate! Please contact our office at 780-429-1899 the week following the festival. Lost items will be donated if not claimed by September

Edmonton has many hotels located downtown. short distance from the festival. Contact your travel agent or Edmonton Tourism.

The Bennett Centre:  Located right across the street, the Bennett Centre offers a premium location for Folk Fest accommodations. The private hostel-style rooms accommodate up to four individuals (bunk beds). Visit bennettcentre.epsb.ca .

St. Joseph's College:

Located at the University of Alberta, minutes from all amenities and our Park and Ride location. Single dorm and 2 & 4 bedroom suites available. For information and reservations please email sjcres@ualberta.ca or call 780.868.9190

Camping: As we are located in Central Edmonton, there is no on-site camping. Camping is available at Rainbow Valley Campground, located near Whitemud Creek.

For information regarding other attractions in Edmonton, visit exploreedmonton.com