'The festival hasn't suffered:' Folk on the Rocks comes together without executive director

Organizers of a Yellowknife music festival say despite cutting back on the number of stages and performers at this year's event, the festival's quality won't change.

Andrew Livingstone, one of the eight board members of the Folk on the Rocks music festival, says the board found ways to save "a lot of money," after losing nearly $170,000 in the last two years.

"Over the years it's grown in size, it's been ambitious and it's a good thing that we're trying to improve it," Livingstone said.

"But we thought that it was important that we bring it back to its core and try to focus our attention on what we have instead of trying to grow it."

In January, the board announced that David Whitelock, who was the executive director of the event for 2014 and 2015, no longer held that position.

• Folk on the Rocks seeks new executive director
• Former Folk on the Rocks executive director David Whitelock threatens lawsuit

This year, organizers decided to go ahead without an executive director — someone who usually leads volunteer and site co-ordination before the event, and oversees the entire festival while it's going on.  

Eliminating the executive director spot has saved money, Livingstone said. Now, there are four or five new positions that split up the duties of that position.

Organizers also decided to get rid of the Rockin' Fox stage, which was located close to the main entrance, and cut back on the number of performers to 24 this year from more than 30 last year.

"We're essentially spending money we don't have because ticket sales and how the festival goes on the weekend are a big part for us," Livingstone said.

"I think when people come in here they're going to find that the festival hasn't really suffered in terms of the quality because of the finances."

'Really ramp it up'

Despite financial constraints, Livingstone says organizers have been able to add a few new things to Folk on the Rocks this year.

There's a new roof over the beer garden stage, as well as a new floor on the main stage. There's also a "mist machine," where people can cool off under the expected 25 C temperatures.

Livingstone himself also spearheaded a project for the younger festival goers, creating a new kids' area on site.

"We've always kind of heard that the family area could be better, so we took that into consideration this year and decided to really ramp it up."

The kids area is now where the former Rockin' Fox stage used to be. The festival's board decided to get rid of that more "pumpin'" stage — to save money — and "focus on the family aspect of the event."

The kids' zone stage is now shaded under a tent and includes more than just music: there's even a maze made of pallets, with secret passageways and dead ends.

"We did have to make some tough decisions and cutting one of the stages, which was the Rockin' Fox tent, was a difficult one, but we felt that we needed to kind of pare back things and try to bring the festival back to its roots."