(Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

MUSIC AT THE LAKE

‘It’s absolutely huge’: Lakeside music festival returns to Waskesiu

Aug 26, 2022 | 8:00 AM

It’s a festival that means a lot to this community, and after a two-year hiatus, it is finally going to hit its shores.

The Waskesiu Lakeside Music Festival is set to go this weekend after COVID and restrictions derailed plans for the event for the last two years.

One of the co-chairs of the festival is Sammy Lee Folkersen. He said having the spectacle back after the hiatus is a terrific feeling.

“We are incredibly excited for many different reasons, the biggest one being that COVID sidelined our plans for the festival in 2020 and 2021. This is the first time in three seasons that we’ve been able to produce a full-fledged music festival for the town of Waskesiu,” Folkersen said.

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The free event runs from Friday through Sunday and features live performances from artists like The Steadies, Velvet Threads, Chris Valleau, and Sammy himself.

Folkersen added the festival is a way to show everyone that there’s still a bit of summer left.

“It’s at the very end of the season where things are kind of winding down, so it allows us to extend the season in Waskesiu and produce our biggest community event of the summer.”

So how important is a festival like this to a small community like Waskesiu?

“It’s absolutely huge to the community,” said Folkerson. “Furthermore, it takes the entire community to produce this thing. With a lot of moving parts and a ton of local talent that we bring in including an Indigenous showcase that we produce on the Sunday of the festival.”

The first performances for the festival start on Friday at 5 p.m. with live performances going until 10 p.m. with a live music street fair from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock