We love good food that’s good for our community – and our environment, too.
Food is a huge part of the folk fest experience. We love great food and are proud to offer festival goers a delicious variety of ethical and sustainable food choices.
Applications NOW OPEN!
Deadline to apply is January 17, 2025
Food Vendor Application
Applications for the 2025 festival are now open. The deadline to apply is January 17, 2025.
Locations Available
Folk Fest Food Village: The Festival Village is the central gathering area on the festival grounds. Food vendors are open 5:00 pm – 12:00 am Thursday, 10:00 am – 12:00 am Friday / Saturday and 10:00 am – 10:00 pm Sunday.
Booths in the Festival village: The festival has permanent booths available for vendors. They are 16’-18’ wide and 26’ deep. A 16’x15’ concrete floor is provided in most booths.
Mobile: Vendors who want to bring a mobile unit will also be considered.
Festival Campground: Our festival campground is home to around 6,000 campers. Vendor hours of operation are Wednesday-Sunday 7:00am – 3:00am (hours are negotiable between these times).
Fees
Fees for a basic booth (electrical + water hook-ups only) are $4750 plus G.S.T.
Fees for a propane equipped booth (electrical, water and propane hook-ups) are $5000 plus G.S.T.
Fees for mobile units outside of the Food Village will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on location, staffing and required services.
Upon selection, a deposit of $1050 will be required to secure your space. Vendors receive a limited number of passes for employees. Additional passes are available for purchase at a discounted rate.
Services and Facilities
Equipment for food preparation, materials for display, signage, and weatherproofing are your responsibility.
Plumbing:
For booths in the Festival Village:a 1/2” male potable water line is provided at the back of each booth. You are responsible for bringing your own sinks, food grade hoses to connect the sinks, and connector hose and ring to connect to the main drainage pipe. You must have your own down pipes in place on your sinks, connected to one main hose with an end fitting that will be compatible with our 1.5” PVC drainage pipe.
Mobile Vendors: Require self-contained tanks for water and grey water.
Campground Vendors: Have access to a shared water tap and shared grey water tank.
Electrical: Available in all locations but is limited. Please ensure your application includes all electrical requirements so we can properly assess your needs. Equipment must be in good working condition and meet all applicable codes. We do not permit the use of generators on the festival site or in the campground
Propane: Must meet all applicable codes. Vendors operating from a booth in the Festival Village (mobile trucks or otherwise) must hook-up to propane infrastructure provided.
Environmental Policies
Vendors are required to offer only compostable serving wear to patrons. This includes all plates, bowls, cutlery, napkins, packaging, and condiment cups.
Selection
Our primary basis for selection is to offer a good mix of options for the audience. Your menu is key. Vendors are encouraged to participate in our LOFT program by including menu items that feature locally produced, organic, and fair-trade ingredients.
Other important considerations are:
- Previous history with Folk Fest.
- Operational and electrical requirements.
- Overall menu balance.
- The look of your concession.
- Experience with other festivals and events.
If you have any questions, please contact vendors@winnipegfolkfestival.ca or (204) 231-0096. More detailed information is available upon request. We look forward to receiving your application.
If you are a returning vendor from 2024, use the button below to log into your portal to view and complete your Returning Vendor Form. Your login info remains the same from 2024. If you have forgotten your password, use the forgot password button on the login page to have a reset email sent to you. If you have forgotten your login email or cannot see the assigned form in your portal, please reach out to us. Do not complete the new vendor form linked above.
Food Philosophy
Sharing real food made by real folk
We love good food that’s good for our community – and our environment, too. It is our goal to work with local partners to share a variety of healthy, ethical, affordable and sustainable food choices at all of our events throughout the year and at the summer festival.
We value Local, Organic and Fair Trade (LOFT) products.
We are committed to working with partners and vendors that share our passion for LOFT values and integrate them into their businesses.
We value food that is healthy, nutritious, balanced and affordable.
- We endeavor to work with partners who choose foods that are good for our health and wellbeing.
- We engage partners and vendors who offer food options that respect dietary restrictions and preferences.
- We ask vendors and partners to provide a variety of food choices to ensure our festival community can access nutritious food affordably.
We value food that is sustainable and minimizes the waste that goes into our landfills.
- We ensure our partners and vendors share our Leave No Trace philosophy. This means that we want to leave Birds Hill Park in the same beautiful state we found it by packing out everything that we pack in and not leaving any waste behind.
- We use compostable and reusable cutlery, packaging and dishware and maximize our composting and recycling practices instead of adding to landfills.
- We encourage our partners and vendors to purchase their food quantities responsibly to avoid any food waste.
We are grateful to have so many incredible partners on board to help make this happen and to our community for embracing this philosophy. We will continue to build the opportunities for and awareness of healthy, local, sustainable food and practices that are affordable for our Folk Fest community.