By Kayla Bruch

3-day weekend of fun in the sun

Jan 18, 2015 | 7:39 AM

The August long weekend may not be on our radar yet considering the cool winter weather, but Prince Albert tourism is encouraging the public to keep that weekend open.

Event coordinator for Prince Albert Tourism, Abraham Lancaster said with the sun’s warm rays beating down and a newly renovated Kinsmen Park they will set the stage for the first annual Borealis Festival.  

Through a legacy fund Prince Albert Tourism will make, “some upgrades to Kinsmen Park including…some re-paving of pathways and flower beds,” said Lancaster. “It’s an all-around really positive initiative, it’s a really great thing for Prince Albert. I think that there’s a real dire need for it and people are getting excited about it and that’s the best thing.”

The festival, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 2, will showcase several different genres of music as well as a variety of local and world-wide entertainers.

“There’s a real emphasis on really prominent Saskatchewan talent, we’ve got some really talented aboriginal artists and some really talented French-Acadian artists as well.  We’re bringing in some international stuff and some really big national stuff as well,” said Lancaster.

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Planning for the festival began over a year ago when Prince Albert tourism staff decided to capitalize on the amount of tourists travelling through Prince Albert.

“It came from noticing how many people are just traveling through Prince Albert on the August long weekend from around Canada. We really wanted to draw those kind of people through and raise awareness for Prince Albert as a destination rather than just a gateway,” said Lancaster.

According to Lancaster, the former executive director of tourism spent over a year on budgeting and building a solid business plan for the event.

“We want to grow it, we’re thinking ten years down the road so we really want to ensure that this is something that we…implement properly,” said Lancaster. “[We want] to make sure…it’s something that people can look forward to every year and something that Prince Albert can be proud of,” he said.

If you live in, or have visited Prince Albert, it’s likely you know how breathtaking the lakes are in areas surrounding the city. With this is mind Lancaster said they have arranged a way for people staying by Waskasieu, Candle, Emma or Christopher Lake to attend the event.

“We’re organizing a bus service for those people that do have cabins out there so they can be shuttled in from the lake, hit the main stage for the evenings and get shuttled back out afterwards because the festival wraps up at around 11 p.m., ” said Lancaster.

The events website will be up and running in March and will include a line-up of performances and forms for artists, food vendors and volunteers to sign up.

On each night of the festival the gates at Kinsmen Park will open at 5 p.m. and the show will begin at 6 p.m. Guests of the show are expected to bring their own seating.

Tickets for the day as well as the main stage show in the evening cost $55 or you can purchase a weekend pass for $135. Children under 12 are free.

During the festival there will also be performances on a workshop stage which is free for anyone over the course of the three days, as well as food vendors, beer gardens and a children’s area.

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter: @KaylaBruch1