'Time to say goodbye': Regina Folk Festival permanently shuts down due to financial struggles

The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) is permanently shutting down after decades of bringing music to the city's downtown.

Despite efforts to restructure and rebuild, festival organizers announced Tuesday that financial constraints and operational challenges have forced them to cancel the event and dissolve the organization.

"This news is difficult, however, we are filled with gratitude for everyone involved with the festival," the RFF board of directors said in a statement.

"For 55 years, the Regina Folk Festival has been more than just a celebration of live music; it's been a highly anticipated weekend of community building where lasting memories were made," the board said. "We are heartbroken that it is time to say goodbye."

Mourned by artists

Since it was founded in 1969, the Regina Folk Festival has been a fixture of the city's summer music scene, attracting audiences to Victoria Park for a weekend of live music and entertainment.

Melanie Hankewich, who performs as Belle Plaine, has been involved in the festival as a volunteer, stagehand, spectator and performer. 

Hankewich said the news of the festival's shutdown was still sinking in and the event will not be easily replaced.

"It's a real detriment to the arts community here, because there were a lot of folks like myself that got their start with the festival," Hankewich said in an interview on Tuesday.

Megan Nash, another Saskatchewan-based artist, described the festival's end as a "huge loss for our community."

"It's just something that you aspire to play one day as a local artist, and it's also a chance as an audience member to see international touring artists come to a smaller city like Regina," Nash said.

Nash recalls being able to perform at the festival multiple times, including a social-distanced version during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She said the festival advanced her career and gave her work during a trying time for artists, she said. 

"It's really meant a lot," Nash said. "I'm really sad to see it go."

'Serious financial crisis'

In June 2023, organizers warned the festival was facing a "serious financial crisis" and appealed to the community for donations and support. 

The festival then announced a hiatus in 2024 to rework its format, citing ongoing financial struggles. 

"We are taking a fallow year; a year away from summer festival programming to rebuild our resources and vision in a reality that's still in flux for presenting arts organizations across Canada after the economic challenges resulting from the pandemic," the festival said in a news release on March 6, 2024.

Instead of a full-scale event in 2024, organizers launched a concert series while planning for the festival's return in 2025. The 53rd edition was scheduled to run from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10.

The statement Tuesday said that by early this year, the organization realized the financial and staffing challenges were too great to overcome. The festival has now begun the process of refunding all purchased tickets.

The RFF's closure is the latest blow to Canada's live music industry, which has struggled to recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising costs, stagnant funding and declining ticket sales have put additional pressure on organizers.

The RFF board says it now costs 30 to 40 per cent more than it did in 2019 to organize a comparable event.

"According to the Canadian Live Music Association, the industry experienced a staggering 60% revenue decline during the pandemic," the statement said.