Minnedosa ready to rock
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/07/2013 (4543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Ten years of sun, fun and rock music are being celebrated in Minnedosa this weekend.
Big Wreck, The Trews, The Headpins, Trooper, and Theory of a Deadman are the headliners for Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa, but according to co-founder Ken Gronsdahl, it’s the community that keeps people coming back.
“Half of it is the music, the other half is the socializing that goes on in the field,” he said. “We’re a family.”
When the festival started 10 years ago, about 300 people came out and became members of the non-profit co-operative that helped to build and keep the festival running.
“It’s like getting together with all the fun cousins when all the dodgy aunts and uncles aren’t there,” Gronsdahl said.
The group of cousins, as they call themselves, extend their friendship beyond the festival to see concerts together across the Prairies, but the big reunion happens during the weekend.
Gronsdahl said the hospitality at RFM is unlike any other festival.
“It’s like our Woodstock. If you go there hungry, you’ll be fed. If you need shelter, we’ll provide it. People who come here from Countryfest or other festivals are blown away by the homestyle feel of RFM.”
The physical feel of the festival grounds will be different this year — over the last month they’ve been reworked to include new seats that might seem familiar to local football fans.
The Winnipeg Football Club donated more than 1,000 flipdown seats to the event from the old Canad Inns Stadium, 300 of which were installed this year. The others will be installed next year.
“We rely solely on our sponsors and our volunteers, so something like this is fantastic,” Gronsdahl said.
The main demographic of people attending Rockin’ the Fields are aged 35 to 52, Gronsdahl said, but a new afternoon stage was added for Saturday and Sunday to showcase Manitoba talent, and draw a younger crowd.
“Classic rock is starting to tire out. Even some of the bands we have this year could start to be put in the classic rock category,” he said. “The festival is and always will be predominantly rock, but we do branch out to reach a bigger demographic.”
Of course, the reason behind the festival is to rock out.
“Trooper is going to be big. Everybody’s heard a Trooper song at one point in their life. It’s an amazing feeling when you have thousands of people singing along to the same song. I’ve heard that you can hear us from 10 kilometres away.”
The festival begins on Friday at Lake Minnedosa. More information can be found at rockinthefields.ca.
» lparsons@brandonsun.com