Saskatoon Folkfest returns for scaled-back 46th year

Saskatoon Folkfest is back for its 46th year.

The two-day event gets underway on Friday and wraps up on Saturday, with all the action happening at Prairieland Park.

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Doors open at 3 p.m. and the event closes at midnight.

This year’s event will be smaller than previous iterations of Folkfest, which typically ran for three days rather than two. The change comes after both the Ukrainian and Scottish pavilions dropped out of last year’s festival, citing concerns around rising costs and low attendance.

But while the Scottish Pavilion will return this year, the ever-popular Ukrainian Pavilion will not.

There are 10 pavilions to visit at Folkfest this year, all offering something unique.

Bangladesh, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Norway, Pakistan, Scotland and Vietnam are all represented, along with the Latino Pavilion.

Each pavilion will present a performance on the stage at Prairieland.

Public transit will be available to help people get to and from the big event. Riders can use routes 1 and 19, which are the Prairieland Park routes, and buses will run every 30 minutes until 6 p.m. After that buses will run hourly until midnight. Regular fare rates will apply.

Pavilion drop-out trouble in 2024

Kishore Gali, a member of Folkfest’s board, said it is common for pavilions to take a break, noting that in the festival’s 45-year history, only two pavilions have participated every year.

“It’s not a sign of anything else going on, and the event will continue as planned,” Gali said in a previous interview with 650 CKOM.

While Gali acknowledged it can be an emotional decision for some groups to step back, it’s often necessary to rebuild volunteer numbers, especially since COVID-19.

“It’s huge resources, volunteer base, performers, everything. So a huge time commitment,” he said.

Gali said pavilions rely on 200 to 300 volunteers, and when there is a change in some of the key organizers, groups need to pause and “re-align their teams.”

The festival recently welcomed new groups, including the Iranian Pavilion in 2020. The Latino and Nigerian pavilions made their debuts in 2024.