500 people set the stage in year one.
550 people entered the gates in years two and three. Year four is right around the corner, and organizers are expecting the biggest turnout yet. The Whitemud Music Festival is this weekend at Lansdowne Centennial Park in Arden. The two-day festival gets underway with The Ridge Rockers, Vinyl Revival, and The B34ST on Friday night.
Friday gets underway at 7:00. The entertainment begins at noon on Saturday and runs past midnight. The list of performers on Saturday includes the Steven Smith Trio, Hicktown, Vintage Voltage, and Ronnie Ladobruk, to name a few.
Rob Cameron says it's going to be another tremendous weekend. He added organizers have been blown away by the support over the past three years.
"Yeah, the support has been great," said Cameron. "The response and comments we get from the attendees and bands that come are super positive. It's always nice to hear good things."
Food trucks are on site throughout the weekend, and there's free camping. People have compared this event to a mini Countryfest with 600 people instead of 9,000. Country, country-rock, rock, everything you could want.
Snake Oil - the Ikons of Rock will rock the stage on Saturday night.
Cameron says they take great pride in keeping costs down. A weekend pass - which includes your camping - is $90 before you arrive at the festival. If you get a ticket at the gate, it's $110. A Friday day pass is $50 and $70 on Saturday. You can get tickets at the Neepawa Legion and the Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne office.
"We don't overcharge for our beverages at the bar," ended Cameron. "We just want everyone to come and have fun. Relax, sit in their lawn chair, or get up and dance. Whatever people want. We're about the hospitality. We get a lot of comments about the friendliness and hospitality that we put on."
It's year four, and it's shaping up to be the biggest year yet. The Whitemud Music Festival runs on Friday and Saturday at Lansdowne Centennial Park in Arden. For more on the festival, head here.
