The musicians have left and the Flin Flon Campground has returned to its normal state, but the first Blueberry Jam Music Gathering is still on the minds of organizers.
“I think it went spectacularly well,” said Mark Kolt, a member of the committee that organized the event.
More than 40 acts, some from out of town, took to two stages at the campground during the event.
The number of people in attendance during the three days festival also exceeded expectations.
“We had budgeted for between 300 and 500 people,” said Kolt.
Organizers estimate between 800 and 1,500 people were at Blueberry Jam at its peak. No tracking system was used during the event, so exactly how many people came out is unknown.
Regardless, Kolt said the numbers were at the high end of the committee’s expectations, and said he believes the organizing committee and the musicians who participated were thrilled.
The Blueberry Jam committee will meet later this week to discuss what went well and what could be improved, as well as potential future plans.
“In a sense, we would have been reasonably pleased with things had we gotten 500 people, and in that scenario we’d be planning ways to get to 1,500 [people]. Now that we’re here, the question of where we go from here is something that would require some discussion.”
While the event was free, organizers raised $5,365 through T-shirt sales, 50/50 draws and donations.
Kolt expressed gratitude to the volunteers. “That goes from volunteer performers to volunteers who helped out with building the stage and organizing various things, and those who worked tirelessly at unglamourous jobs,” said Kolt. “It takes a village to put on an event like that, and every little action was appreciated.”
