John Arcand Fiddle Fest Draws Record Crowds

John Arcand Fiddle Fest Draws Record Crowds

Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 14:02

 

 

The annual John Arcand Fiddle Fest near Saskatoon continues to grow.

 

This year’s edition of the festival wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, and now organizers have some final numbers.

 

Nearly 5,000 people attended, which is up by 36 per cent.

 

The workshops had nearly 10 per cent more students in them, with an overall participation of around 1,100 people.

 

One of the festival organizers, Vicki Arcand, says the best part about the workshop numbers is that nearly half of those students were young people.

 

Arcand says the mandate of the festival is to preserve and promote Metis fiddling, and that can only be done if young people learn the art.

 

She adds many people at this year’s event have requested an additional day of workshops in future gatherings.

 

Arcand says she’s not sure if the festival has that capacity yet, but says the suggestion will be considered.