Festival Campground
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.
Camper's Guide
Everything you need to know as a camper at the Festival.
Camping with your Folk Fest community is a wonderful, freeing, expressive experience that often feels like an escape from reality, but it’s important to keep your wits about you. Be good to yourself and to each other. Continue the Folk Fest legacy of being a respectful, caring, kind and gentle community.
Camp near your friends, mark your property and your tent and take your valuables with you when leave. If you’re not camped near your friends, make friends with your neighbours!
Safety volunteers (in blue vests) patrol the campgrounds and are there to facilitate a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. It is not their mission to police your lifestyle or inhibit self-expression. Please assist them by following their instructions when asked to do so. In the event of an emergency, call 911 first.
Buddy system
Using the buddy system is the best way to take care of your friends at the festival. Take in the festival sights and sounds in pairs or groups, especially at night when the site and campgrounds look a little different.
Stay in control
The Festival may seem like an escape from reality, and while it is a magical place, help keep the festival vibe alive and your experience positive by acting responsibly. You want to remember every moment of your festival weekend, don’t you? Of course you do! Please practice moderation and personal responsibility.
If you see someone who is having a bad experience, flag down a safety volunteer in a blue vest or take them to First Aid, where we have access to professional mental health responders. Our number one concern is the well-being of our community. Taking care of yourself and looking out for others is how you can be the best neighbour in our Folk Fest home.
Practice and promote safe and consensual sex
There’s nothing wrong with a romp in the tent so long as everyone’s aware and having a good time. Make your time together safe and consensual. If you forgot condoms, you can get some free of charge at Campground Central. Talk to your partner – consent is as easy as FRIES:
- Freely given
- Reversible
- Informed
- Enthusiastic
- Specific
More information on what the Festival is doing for community wellness.
There is no specific camping spot reserved for each Camping Ticket sold, camping tickets allow you to enter the campground you purchased and set up your campsite. It is a great time to meet other folkies and share the large open field, water taps, picnic tables and fire pits, as they are for communal use. We don't offer water or electric hook-ups.
- Practice safer alcohol and other substance use.
- You can’t drink enough water! By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. Water taps are marked with blue banners throughout the campgrounds.
- Eat well. Enjoy well-balanced meals throughout the day.
- Stay on marked trails – there’s poison ivy in the bushes
- Wear shoes
- Dress appropriately for the weather. If you’re not familiar with Manitoba weather, it can be hot and sunny one moment and cold and rainy the next!
Minors (17 years and younger) in the campgrounds must be accompanied by an adult, to a limit of four minors per adult. If you are a guardian of an underage camper, you need to be with them in order for them to exchange their ticket for a wristband and each time they wish to enter the campground. And remember: You’re responsible for them for the duration of the festival.
- Fireworks, fire sticks or fire batons
- Glass (this includes beer and liquor bottles)
- Fires outside designated fire pits
- Burning or collecting scavenged wood
- Pets
- Household furniture
- Amplified music
- Drum kits
- Unauthorized distribution of printed materials
- Commercial vending
- Generators
Campsites cannot be reserved. If you want to camp with a group of friends, you need to arrive together to ensure you get a spot together.
Parking lots are located by the Quiet and Festival Campground entrances and all campers must move in their camping gear by foot. We suggest bringing a wagon!
The maximum Tent Size is 10’ x 20’, maximum tent peg length is 12”. Tent size restrictions allow you to safely enjoy the space with your fellow folkies.
When setting up your tent please ensure at least one foot of clear ground space all around your tent in case of emergency to allow first responders to safely assist you and/or your neighbours.
We are primarily a tent-camping festival; however, a limited number of RV/Trailer permits are available for purchase separately. RV/Trailer Permit tickets go on sale December 2, 2024, at 10AM. If you missed out on the RV/Trailer Permit tickets, please sign up for the waitlist (more information on the waitlist please visit FAQ)
If tickets become available, they will be released to the waitlist on a first come first served basis.
There will not be a second release of RV Permit tickets.
The Festival has held back a limited amount of RV/Trailer Permit tickets for internal use. If they are not required, we will release those tickets to the waitlist. The majority of RV/Trailer Permit tickets are released on December 2, 2024.
RVs and trailers are welcome in both the Quiet Campground and Festival Campground, however, all RVs/trailers in both campgrounds must purchase an RV/Trailer Permit Ticket to exchange for an RV/Trailer permit, as space is limited.
The RV/trailer permit reserves one parking space for a camping vehicle in the campgrounds. You only need one permit per RV/trailer, not per person. Only registered camping vehicles are permitted: RVs, campers, trailers and camper vans. Tents designed specifically to attach to a truck/SUV to convert it into a living space are also permitted in the RV section. Along with your parked RV/trailer in your camp spot, you may set up one additional dining or camping tent in the spot as well. Sleeping in your car, an unconverted van or box truck is not allowed. Once inside, vehicles must not be moved except when vacating the campground. There are no in/out privileges.
For the Festival campground, vehicles pulling trailers must leave the camping area after parking the trailer. The exception is trucks providing power and stability to fifth wheels.
A free shuttle travels a round trip route around to all three campgrounds and the Festival site every 30 minutes during Festival hours to take you from the campgrounds to the site.
The frequency of buses may change unexpectedly due to circumstances outside of our control.
The Campground Shuttle is not accessible.
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.
What to Bring
Make sure you have everything you need for the best weekend of summer!
- Tents/shelters
- Sleeping bags
- Pillows
- Air mattresses
- Tarps
- Camping chairs
- Water tank/jug
- Cooler and/or water jugs
- Camping stove or grill
- Food for the weekend
- Washing bins
In the Festival Campground - we have a great selection of food vendors at Campground Central.
- Flashlight with extra batteries
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher)
- Sunglasses
- Small camping first aid kit
- Hat
- T-shirts/tanks
- Shorts
- Long pants
- Rain jacket
- Rain boots
- Your fave Winnipeg Folk Fest hoodie or crew neck
- Extra shoes/sneakers
- Soaps and shampoos
- Toilet paper (you never know)
- Deodorant
- Earplugs (for sleeping)
- Your phone with the Winnipeg Folk Fest app downloaded to keep you up-to-date
- Extra set of keys to keep with you at all times (avoid keeping keys in your car!)
- Blanket
Arrival
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 food, stories and experiences. It’s a beautifully organic community where lifelong friends and lasting memories are made.
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: 7:00 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!
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!
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. The trail will split into two lanes:
- One if you need to buy a Provincial Park Pass,
- And a bypass lane if you already have one.
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.
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 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 more accessible 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.
The maximum Tent Size is 10’ x 20’, maximum tent peg length is 12”. Tent size restrictions allow you to safely enjoy the space with your fellow folkies.
When setting up your tent please ensure at least one foot of clear ground space all around your tent in case of emergency to allow first responders to safely assist you and/or your neighbours.
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!
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. However, 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 guidelines that help foster the healthy and welcoming nature of the campground. We are borrowing this wonderful piece of Birds Hill Provincial Park. Respecting each other and the place we are staying makes it a great time for all!
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!
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.
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 – this service is just for your phone.
Visit the Safety Trailer at Campground Central if you’ve lost something in the campground. Someone may have turned it in!
Services
There are outhouses, water taps, picnic tables, bike racks and fire pits available for communal use. Campground shelters, built with reclaimed materials, are great places to gather, meet your neighbours and find refuge from rain or the hot afternoon sun.
A few great, healthy choice food vendors will be set up in the Festival Campground for campers to buy snacks. Like our food vendors on the Folk Fest site, these vendors support our LOFT initiative by selling local, organic and fair trade food for your health and enjoyment.
Located on the paved road by the campground entrance, the store sells snacks, camping gear, earplugs, firewood, ice and other supplies.
Campers are welcome to use the Birds Hill Provincial Park Campground coin-showers (open 24 hours, $1 for three minutes, takes loonies and toonies) and coin-laundry (open during store hours, $1.75/wash, $2/dry, takes quarters and loonies). Take our free shuttle to the shower!
A free shuttle travels a round trip route around to all three campgrounds and the Festival site every 30 minutes during Festival hours to take you from the campgrounds to the site.
The frequency of buses may change unexpectedly due to circumstances outside of our control.
The campground shuttles are not wheelchair accessible (i.e. multiple steps).
The campground traffic crew is one of the first contact points for campers. They strive to make the arrival and exit of 1,000 vehicles and 6,000 campground patrons as safe, pleasant and stress-free as possible, so thank them when you see them!
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!
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.
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).
When you leave, take all of your camping gear home and bag all recycling and trash and put it in the appropriate bins or Environment Headquarters. Please take down all the ropes you tied to trees to hang your tarps and hammocks. Ropes left on the trees strangle and kill them over time – we’ve already seen too many trees die because of this. Help us see that the beautiful park doesn’t suffer any further loss
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.
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.
Campground Creation Contest
Create art, make music, decorate, host games, and do other group activities.
We are excited to continue the tradition of creativity in the Festival Campground. The Festival is giving everyone the chance to participate in the campground’s unique creative community we have all grown to love.
Creative campsites should encourage and reflect the positive, safe and community culture of the Festival Campground. We suggest ideas like decorating your campsite as the 1970s to celebrate the first ever Folk Fest or hosting games with your fellow campers.
You can use costumes, decorations, solar lighting, or make stand-alone art pieces that encourage interaction and beautify the campground.
The following guidelines are to ensure creations are safe for campers and honour the natural environment of the provincial park. Our friendly safety volunteers will keep an eye out for safety concerns.
- Set up begins after the Campground opens Wednesday July 10, 2024.
- Make room for everyone! Creative campsites should not take up an unreasonable amount of space, shaded area or infringe on designated roads and paths.
- Creative campsites should be safe in all types of weather in our outdoor environment. Use weather resistant materials, with the ability to withstand sun, wind and rain.
- Creative campsites must be designed and installed in a manner that presents no danger to campers (no sharp edges or heavy elements that could fall).
- Campsites should be easy to set up and remove. Help reach our campground waste goals by packing out what you bring in.
- Campers are responsible to completely remove the campsite before 12:00 PM on Monday, July 15. We are a “Leave No Trace” event.
- We’re not permitted to make changes to Birds Hill Park facilities, such as shelters, picnic tables, fire pits and water taps.
- We need to protect the natural environment. Anything that has a negative effect on the natural environment like digging or cutting/trimming trees will not be permitted. (Digging and long tent pegs, maximum tent peg length allowed is 12”, can cause damage to underground power and water lines.)
- Prohibited items include indoor furniture, hot tubs, saunas or fireworks, tiki torches, fire elements, and generators.
- We can't permit large built structures or large event tents that can fall on someone or that someone can fall from. (The maximum Tent Size is 10’ x 20'.). Yurts and Geodesic Domes are allowed as long as they are safely installed.
- Please refrain from amplified music – our campers value the campground’s acoustic nature!
- No serving food or alcohol, let’s keep each other safe and healthy.
- Please no illicit behaviour associated with your creation. No drug use, nudity, binge drinking devices, etc.
Campers who choose to create a unique campsite with decorations, games, activities and/or art will have two chances to enter to win four 4-Day Tickets with Festival Camping for the 2025 Winnipeg Folk Festival.
One set of four tickets will be awarded to the creation with the most votes from fellow campers, and the other set of four will be awarded through a random draw.
To enter the draw and to gain votes, you must submit photos of your art, your decorated campsite, or group activity with contact information using the Woobox form which will open for submissions on Wednesday, July 10 at 10:00 AM. Once your creation is submitted you'll be provided with a link to share with other folks to vote for you.
All the campers who participate and enter will be eligible to win. You will have until July 22, 2024, after the Festival to enter. Voting will take place until July 29, 2024.
After July 29, 2024 the winners will be contacted directly and will be announced on Winnipeg Folk Festival's social media.
We believe EVERYONE has the right to experience the Winnipeg Folk Festival (WFF) as a safe place where they are welcome and respected.
As an organization, we encourage creativity, freedom of expression and attire, and respectful discussion, but not at the harm of others - regardless of attendees’ intentions. Read the full policy here
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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