Third time’s the charm? Mariposa Folk Festival officials are hoping so.
Tickets for the festival — set to return to Tudhope Park July 8 to 10 — recently went on sale.
Organizers are feeling optimistic about 2022 after having to cancel the festival in 2020 and 2021.
“We’re planning for a full-capacity festival and if we have to change things, we will,” said Pam Carter, chair of the festival and president of the Mariposa Folk Foundation. “We’re proceeding with guarded optimism.”
When the 2020 and 2021 festivals were called off, those who had purchased tickets were given the opportunity to defer them to the next year. More than 1,500 opted to do so for the 2022 event.
“It’s such a great message of support for Mariposa,” Carter said, noting ticket holders committed without knowing who the artists would be.
Since tickets for next year went on sale, the response has been positive, she said, with the majority of people buying weekend passes.
Despite what appears to be an improving situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, planning can be a challenge.
“It’s a little difficult to plan because there’s still a great unknown,” Carter said.
Much of the effort went toward the recent Mariposa Satellite Concert series, which was a hit with both guests and artists.
“People were so happy. Some of the artists cried because they were so happy,” Carter said. “People are ready.”
With that series now finished, “we’ll start to plan in earnest” for the festival, she said.
Organizers have booked about 80 per cent of the artistic lineup and, because of the pandemic, fans can expect to see more Canadian content than usual.
The lineup hasn’t been released yet, but it will feature both well- and lesser-known artists, which is typical for the festival.
“There’ll be something for everybody,” Carter said. “We really plan to do a celebration of live performance — happy, upbeat, live music.”
Promotion of the festival is underway, and the next campaign will focus on how it will feel to be back in 2022. It was a question that was raised during a discussion by organizers.
“That sort of clicked with our promotions team,” Carter said of the theme for the campaign.
She encourages people to chime in with their own thoughts on the festival’s social media pages.
The plan is to extend that campaign during the festival to ask people how it feels to be back and after the campaign to ask them how it felt.
A COVID-19 policy is in place for the event, though it is subject to change as the situation evolves.
For now, all visitors, volunteers, staff and artists will be required to show proof of double vaccination or a doctor’s note to indicate medical exemption. Those with exemptions will still need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 48 hours of the festival beginning.
Carter said organizers are also looking at ways to move the festival further toward becoming cashless. There will also be hand sanitizer stations throughout the park.
For more information about the COVID-19 policy and purchasing tickets, click here.
Those who can’t wait for the festival can take in some live music Nov. 20, when Betty and the Bobs will perform at St. Paul’s Centre as part of the Mariposa in Concert series. More information about that event can be found here.
The winter concert series will also return, as will the Mariposa Showcase event, where artists audition for a spot on the festival lineup.
