Latest news with #ReginaFolkFestival
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Regina Fringe Festival cancelled this year, expected to return in 2026
The Regina Fringe Festival has cancelled its 2025 edition, but promised a return in July 2026. The festival shared the news on its website alongside an image of three sad clowns. The announcement comes a week after the Regina Folk Festival permanently shut down operations. For Vanessa Prevost, a theatre artist and comedy writer, the cancellation was a major disappointment. "It was a bummer when I got the email ," Prevost said. Prevost and her friend had planned to submit a Saskatchewan-based sketch show as "not only a love letter to Saskatchewan, but a roast and a farewell." "We don't know what to do with it now." Toronto-based playwright Laura Piccinin, who premiered her show Go at the 2023 festival, emphasized the importance of smaller Fringe festivals. "It would be a huge loss if the Regina Fringe Festival didn't come back," she said. Prevost said she hopes the festival returns in 2026 and does more to highlight Regina's local arts scene to visiting performers. "The performers never knew what to do outside of festival times," se said. "Having a little bit more set in place to showcase the city would be important." Festival organizers have not responded to requests for comment.
CBC
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Regina Fringe Festival cancelled this year, expected to return in 2026
The Regina Fringe Festival has cancelled its 2025 edition, but promised a return in July 2026. The festival shared the news on its website alongside an image of three sad clowns. The announcement comes a week after the Regina Folk Festival permanently shut down operations. For Vanessa Prevost, a theatre artist and comedy writer, the cancellation was a major disappointment. "It was a bummer when I got the email ," Prevost said. Prevost and her friend had planned to submit a Saskatchewan-based sketch show as "not only a love letter to Saskatchewan, but a roast and a farewell." "We don't know what to do with it now." Toronto-based playwright Laura Piccinin, who premiered her show Go at the 2023 festival, emphasized the importance of smaller Fringe festivals. "It would be a huge loss if the Regina Fringe Festival didn't come back," she said. Prevost said she hopes the festival returns in 2026 and does more to highlight Regina's local arts scene to visiting performers. "The performers never knew what to do outside of festival times," se said. "Having a little bit more set in place to showcase the city would be important."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Regina Folk Festival 2025 cancelled, organization to dissolve
The Regina Folk Festival has announced that it is 'no longer possible' to continue with the long-standing summer music event 'due to financial constraints and reduced operational capacity.' 'The time has come to say goodbye to the Regina Folk Festival,' it said in a statement posted to its website Tuesday, adding that the board of directors will work to dissolve the organization. Last year, the organization launched an unofficial 'save the festival' campaign while also running a 'fallow year' of programming instead of the full festival and promising a fresh start in 2025. The live-music event had been hampered for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, returning in 2022. Back in November, organizers were 'optimistic' to announce that the 53rd iteration of the festival would be return. But in the RFF's statement, it said that by the end of January, 'it became clear that financial challenges and capacity limitations could not be overcome.' Artistic director Amber Goodwyn will also step away from the board after two years in the role, according to the statement. The organization thanked her for 'exceptional leadership through pivotal moments of transition.' Goodwyn became artistic director following the departure of executive director Josh Haugerud in 2023. The end of the festival was attributed to 'financial pressures from the pandemic, including stagnant or reduced funding, rising costs, and declining ticket sales,' said the statement. 'This news is difficult, however we are filled with gratitude for everyone involved with the festival. We are grateful for the dedication, love, and expertise of our volunteers.' Regina Folk Festival ready to roll for 2023 but future remains uncertain Regina Folk Festival sends out 'urgent' plea for assistance The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
CBC
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Regina Folk Festival done permanently due to financial struggles
Social Sharing The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) is permanently shutting down after decades of bringing music to the city's downtown. Despite efforts to restructure and rebuild, festival organizers announced Tuesday that financial constraints and operational challenges have forced them to cancel the event and dissolve the organization. "This news is difficult, however, we are filled with gratitude for everyone involved with the festival," the RFF board of directors said in a statement. In June 2023, organizers warned the festival was facing a "serious financial crisis" and appealed to the community for donations and support. The festival then announced a hiatus in 2024 to rework its format, citing ongoing financial struggles. "We are taking a fallow year; a year away from summer festival programming to rebuild our resources and vision in a reality that's still in flux for presenting arts organizations across Canada after the economic challenges resulting from the pandemic," the festival said in a news release on March 6, 2024. Instead of a full-scale event in 2024, organizers launched a concert series while planning for the festival's return in 2025. The 53rd edition was scheduled to run from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10. The statement Tuesday said that by early this year, the organization realized the financial and staffing challenges were too great to overcome. The festival has now begun the process of refunding all purchased tickets. The RFF's closure is the latest blow to Canada's live music industry, which has struggled to recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising costs, stagnant funding and declining ticket sales have put additional pressure on organizers. The RFF board says it now costs 30 to 40 per cent more than it did in 2019 to organize a comparable event. "According to the Canadian Live Music Association, the industry experienced a staggering 60% revenue decline during the pandemic," the statement said. End of an era Since its founding in 1969, the Regina Folk Festival has been a fixture of the city's summer music scene, attracting audiences to Victoria Park for a weekend of live music and entertainment. "For 55 years, the Regina Folk Festival has been more than just a celebration of live music; it's been a highly anticipated weekend of community building where lasting memories were made," the board said. "We are heartbroken that it is time to say goodbye."
