The Festival Campground is a community of 6,000 that pops up in the middle of a prairie field for five days in July. It’s a wonderfully expressive environment created by all who participate. Campers make art and music, decorate their campsites (and themselves!) and share stories and experiences. It’s a beautifully organic community where lifelong friends and lasting memories are made.
The first time you hear someone yell “Happy Folk Fest!” followed by a roar of cheers that rolls across the campground, you’ll feel right at home.
Arrival
The West Gate of Birds Hill Provincial Park opens at 7:00 AM -11:00 PM.
Please arrive at 7:00 AM at the earliest when we are ready to welcome you. For your safety, line-ups on Hwy 59 are not allowed.
The East Gate, located off of Hwy 206, will be closed until the Wednesday campground rush is finished.
Festival Campground Box Office:
Wednesday: 8:00 AM - Midnight
Thursday - Friday: 8:00 AM - Midnight
Saturday - Sunday: closed
The Main Gate Box Office will open at 8:00 AM Wednesday morning and our friendly volunteer crews will be ready to greet and wristband you. Many campers arrive for the campground opening on Wednesday, so expect a wait.
There is no vehicle access to Festival Campground parking after 10 PM so, if you're driving your best bet is to leave your vehicle parked for the weekend!
Birds Hill Park gates are closed between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM daily.
Both the Quiet and Festival campground close at noon on Monday. Everyone needs to be packed out by then, leaving their campsites exactly how they found them - clean and green! There is no vehicle access in the Festival Campground for load out on Monday, so plan to pack out on foot by 12:00 PM
Drive through the West Gate on South Drive, and then turn right on to Festival Drive. You’ll be greeted by a traffic volunteer who will tell you to turn right into the Festival Parking area – not the Festival Campground Parking area. You will be queuing up in the Festival Parking area and getting your wristbands at the Main Gate Box Office.
Line up in the Vehicle Staging Area (see map below). Don’t worry, the volunteers will help line you up so you get to the Main Gate Box Office in the order you arrived and get you in faster! Please save your questions for the Box Office, not Traffic volunteers, to avoid stalls in the lineups.
The first few hundred vehicles in will be guided into Ticket Lanes (see blue arrows on the map), while the remainder will stay in the Vehicle Staging Area. As the Ticket Lines shorten, more vehicles will be added to keep things movin’ along.
- When you’re in the Ticket Lines, please stay in your cars.
- Don’t idle your car in the Vehicle Staging Zone until a traffic volunteer tells you it’s your turn to get in a Ticket Line – it’s not good for the environment.
When you arrive at the front of the Ticket Line, put your vehicle in park and a volunteer will take your ticket and bring you your wristband. Once you have your wristband, pull forward and follow the signs down the trail.
You will end up back on Festival Drive where a traffic volunteer will direct you to the best place to park in the Campground Parking area. From there, you can grab your gear and get camping!
It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the furthest campsite (RV/trailer) to the festival and 10 minutes to walk from the closest campsite (Zone 1A) to the festival.
RV/Trailer Campers
Drive through the West Gate on South Drive, and then turn right on to Festival Drive. You’ll be greeted by a traffic volunteer who will tell you to turn left into the Festival Campground Parking area.
You will then drive down the Festival Campground entrance path and go to the regular Festival Campground Box Office to trade your RV Permit Ticket for a dashboard permit and their Folk Fest Ticket for a wristband. Please drive slowly and carefully through this high congestion area.
Drop-offs and Cyclists
If you are being dropped off at the festival, let the volunteer who is directing you into the parking lot know. They will direct you to a drop-off area. The friend who’s dropping you off can then follow the signs to exit the parking area and be on their way.
If you are arriving by bike, ride to the pedestrian crosswalk and cross the road. Take the trail path to the Main Gate Box Office to avoid the vehicle line. Here you can ride up to the “walk-up” kiosk to exchange your ticket for a wristband.
Whether you were dropped off or cycled in, once you have your wristband head north, across the Festival Drive crosswalk and into the Festival Campground by the South End Gate.
Later in the Day
Once we have processed everyone in line for the Wednesday morning rush, campers arriving in the afternoon will go back to exchange their tickets for wristbands at the Festival Campground Box Office.
If you are being dropped off at the festival, let the volunteer who is directing you into the parking lot know. They will direct you to a drop-off area. The friend who’s dropping you off can then follow the signs to exit the parking area and be on their way.
If you ride your bike from the city to the festival, enter the parking lot by the path from the Festival Drive crosswalk. Head south to the Main Gate Box Office (labelled Main Gate on the map) to exchange your ticket for a wristband.
Whether you were dropped off or cycled in, once you have your wristband head north, across the Festival Drive crosswalk and into the Festival Campground by the South End Gate.
One of the best parts of camping is watching an empty prairie field turn into a town of tents and tarps! Most of the campground is designated for tents with a smaller dedicated area for RVs/trailers. That means no vehicles or trailers are allowed in the tenting grounds.
The campground is divided into zones:
- Zone 1A is generally quieter and where we recommend families with children set up camp.
- Zone 1B and Zone 2 are louder at night. Zone 3 is where many of our volunteers camp and is therefore a bit quieter at night.
- Zone 5 is the lower barrier camping area and for disabled campers who pre-registered with the Folk Fest only.
- Zone 4 and Zone 6 are for RVs and trailers.
There are treed areas throughout, which naturally are the most popular spots. Please watch out for the baby trees we planted that will become future shady spots to tent.
Avoid camping in the middle of pathways; they need to be clear for service and emergency vehicles.
In the Festival Campground, be prepared to fall asleep and wake up to music wherever you camp!
Exchange your RV/Trailer ticket for a vehicle permit when you arrive. Your RV/trailer permit must be visible in the window nearest to the RV’s/trailer's entry door during the entire Festival. RV/trailer spots cannot be reserved or held – they are assigned to vehicles in the order they arrive. Check out the RV camping rules to help you get ready for the Fest.
Everyone is expected to help create a safe and respectful culture at Folk Fest and in our campgrounds. Please remember that you are responsible for yourself at all times, and if you haven’t already done so, read through the How to Folk and Participant Responsibilities. The info is also on our mobile app.
Camp near your friends and take your valuables with you when leave your site. If you’re not camped near your friends, make new ones by getting to know your neighbours!
Wellness Supports: If you notice anyone having a personal conflict, in a crisis, making unhealthy choices or behaving disrespectfully, contact a safety volunteer (in blue vests) to help. They can connect them with supports to help them figure out how to get their festival experience back on track. For more information visit Community Safety & Wellness
Campground Central
The place to go for safety and well-being services! The trailer, next to the wooden structure in Zone 1B, staffed 24 hours a day by safety volunteers, is your “go-to” place for information and services. If you’re not sure whom to ask about something, they’re here to help.
First Aid’s role is to provide basic first aid and medical assistance, in addition to coordinating with emergency personnel in the event of serious situations. If you need help and can’t make it to the trailer, or if you see someone who looks like they need medical attention, you can approach a safety volunteer in a blue vest who will contact the appropriate people.
First Aid volunteers are fully equipped to handle all your Festival bumps, bruises, cuts and burns. They are not responsible for telling you when or how to take your personal medication and are not allowed to administer your medication for you. They do not have any medications, lotions, bug spray, etc. Those items are available at the Campground Store.
Safety and security volunteers are identified by blue vests. You can find them at the campground entrance and Campground Central in Zone 1B. They operate 24 hours a day this is also where you will find First Aid.
Safety volunteers are here to help campers stay safe while having a good time. They ensure that campers have wristbands and that everyone is following the How to Folk and Safer Spaces guidelines that help foster the healthy and welcoming nature of the campground.
Please be respectful and show your wristband as you walk by the checkpoints. They will also be doing random wristband checks throughout the campground – be prepared to wave yours high and proud!
For more information visit Community Safety and Wellness
There is a cellphone charging station at Campground Central. It is unsupervised, so please stay nearby while waiting for your phone to juice up! Charging is limited to USB-compatible chargers. We are unable to accommodate the charging of larger things like CPAP machines– this service is just for your phone.
If you require charging for a medical device, please contact accessibility@winnipegfolkfestival.ca
Visit the Safety Trailer at Campground Central if you’ve lost something in the campground. Someone may have turned it in!
Our friends at Project Safe Audience will be providing information and harm reduction supplies at Campground Central. Check the whiteboard in the campground for information on daily programming.
Save the Park
Environment volunteers will be doing “clean campsite checks” throughout the weekend, handing out prizes and high-fives to campers who are keeping their sites in order. They will also be asking you to tidy up your area if it’s getting messy. Be a champion for the environment and keep your site neat.
Respect Mother Nature and help us continue a legacy of eco-consciousness in the campground. Respect your neighbours and the environment! Leave No Trace – that’s the Folk Fest philosophy. The creatures that live at the park year-round thank you, as do the volunteers who clean up the garbage left behind.
This is our home for five days – keep it clean! Volunteers will provide you with bags upon your arrival: black for garbage and clear for recyclables. If you need more bags, visit the friendly volunteers at Environment Headquarters – the wooden shelter at Trailhead 2, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. They’d love to talk trash with you!
When you leave, take all of your camping gear home and bag all recycling and trash and put it in the appropriate bins.
After the Festival's over and you're ready to pack up your tarps and hammocks, please remember to remove all rope from the trees. Over time, rope left wrapped around tree trunks and branches strangles and kills the tree. We have already lost trees for this reason. Help keep the beautiful Birds Hill Park forest alive and healthy.
Did you know that environment volunteers collect the deposits from beer empties for campground improvements? Bring your empties and recycling to the Environment Headquarters and win some prizes.
At Environment Headquarters, you can pick up a compostable bag to collect organic waste at your campsite. You can drop your compost at Environment Headquarters.
Waste from the porta-potties is taken to the park lagoon to break down the organic waste. Contaminates such as plastics and other garbage pollute the environment. Protect the park by putting ALL non-organic waste including menstrual products, diapers, cigarette butts, etc. in the proper waste bins.
Smokers, practice the “pinch and pocket” habit and don’t butt out your filter on the ground. Free cigarette snuffers are available at Campground Central, Environment Headquarters and Audience Services (on the Festival site).
Campground Map
Become familiar with your surroundings when you arrive. Note the locations of porta-potties, water taps, service areas, plenty to explore!
(Click on image to enlarge)
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