Larry Empey (left) and Brandon Kirby stand in front of a mud covered trailer, after it got stuck on the opening day of the Country Thunder campgrounds July 9, 2026. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Stuck in the muck: Craven mud sinks trailers on day one of Country Thunder

By Gillian Massie Jul 9, 2026 | 5:22 PM

Many Craven-bound country music lovers were greeted by muddy roads and pools of water on the opening day of the Country Thunder music weekend.

A fierce thunderstorm rolled through the Craven Valley on Wednesday night, causing some trailers and RVs to sink in the mud.

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However, “oppressive heat” is promised during the music festival, with temperatures climbing to 30 C-range on Friday and climbing higher on Saturday.

Larry Empey travelled from Swift Current to enjoy a weekend of country music fun, but on arrival, he was steered in the wrong direction and got stuck.

“Just a lot of mud and grass everywhere,” he said. “This is basically a slough over here.”

The music festival’s campsite typically opens to campers on the Wednesday leading up to the festival, but organizers decided to postpone opening day until Thursday due to the muddy conditions.

Mud caked the wheels and side of Larry Empey’s trailer after he tried to park at his Country Thunder campsite on July 9, 2026. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

“They’re doing a great job, and the weather looks great over the next few days,” said Megan Benoit, an organizer with the festival, on the The Greg Morgan Morning Show earlier this week. “So that’s going to really help dry it all up.”

Empey said he waited for more than an hour for one of the music festival’s skid steers to come pull him out. The person to him out of the sunken situation was a fellow country fan with a large truck.

“I’m lucky that this young man beside us had his Dodge out here,” Empey said. “He’s pulling Chevy’s around today.”

Brandon Kirby had already pulled out a few other trailers and RVs when he arrived to help out Empey.

“I’ve been stuck plenty times myself,” Kirby said with a laugh.

He didn’t mind pitching in because “it gives some excitement to the day” before enjoying the party all weekend.

Deep rutts and small ponds of water sat on the Country Thunder campgrounds on July 9, 2026, after a Wednesday evening storm the night before. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

The two spent half an hour trying to pry Empey’s operation free from the swampy campground before getting it free. Both vehicles and the trailer were left caked with mud and grass, with a spray of muck stuck to the back of Empey’s trailer.

Empey is just glad there’s good people willing to held each other out.

“This is the muddiest I’ve been through,” he said. “But they’ve had worse.”

Leo Senger had just travelled from the Battlefords to attend the music festival. His trailer also had to be pulled free by a skid steer after its wheels sunk a few inches deep.

“It’s supposed to be pretty hot, so maybe it maybe dries up,” he said. “It’ll be a little better.”

Senger said anyone with four-wheel drive is the best neighbour to have on the campgrounds.

Riley Green will be the first to headline Country Thunder on Friday night. Other artists on the lineup include Saskatchewan’s Kalsey Kulyk, Max McNown, The Dead South, Creed, and Gavin Adcock.

Lainey Wilson will close out the festival on Sunday night.