The stage is set, the performers are rehearsing and the dance floor is ready to be broken in at the Flin Flon campground.
The countdown is on to this weekend’s Blueberry Jam Music Gathering – the first of its kind in Flin Flon.
The volunteer-run festival has been about a year in the making, and is intended to be a northern spinoff of the Tennent’s Musical Gathering which was held for the last time in rural Saskatchewan last month.
That particular gathering saw hundreds of musicians from across the prairie provinces gather at a family farm for a week of open mic format jams.
Several Flin Flon area musicians who attended the beloved event caught wind of its coming end at a time the City of Flin Flon was looking at ways to increase the area’s tourism draw, and felt Flin Flon could help carry the tradition forward.
With the city on board with the concept and a name decided on, Blueberry Jam Music Gathering was born.
Over the last 10 months, volunteers have worked to organize the event. An official logo was decided on, and sponsors for the event were acquired.
A section of the Flin Flon Tourist Bureau and Campground was cleared to accommodate the main stage for the festival, along with a dance floor, both of which have taken shape over the course of the spring and summer months.
A Facebook group for the event has kept followers abreast of the performers who will grace the main stage and the Rotary Wheel over the three day period. The festival is expected to draw over 100 musicians, performing in several acts across the two venues. As of press time, a tentative schedule has been released but is subject to change.
Many well known local acts will take the stage – a tentative schedule has The Whyte, The Mix, Rob Mote and The Usual Suspects and Jennifer McLean closing out the night at the festival stage on Saturday.
The festival has also attracted acts from out of town. Lone Wolf Theory, a country band travelling in from The Pas will close out the festival stage on Friday evening, while hip hop artist Creetown Soldier and DJ Evan Zach will shut down the Rotary Wheel on Saturday.
Faith Krahn will lead a public worship service at the Rotary Wheel on Sunday from 11 am to 12 pm. Additionally, the Flin Flon Station Museum will have free entry during its open house on Sunday, Aug. 12 between 12 pm and 4 pm.
Food vendors, the Blueberry Jam Market and the Rotary beer garden will be set up at the festival site. Organizers recommend the audience bring a chair or blanket and settle in for a weekend of fun.
Blueberry Jam Music Gathering takes place at the Flin Flon Campground from 6 pm to midnight on Friday, Aug. 10, 11 am to midnight on Saturday, Aug. 11 and 12 pm to 6 pm on Sunday, Aug. 12. All admission is free.
