Edmonton Folk Music Festival trucks in sand to combat record-wet summer
Organizers are taking extra measures to keep the hillside venue usable after weeks of heavy rain soaked the city.
Why it matters
Persistent rain this summer has forced Edmonton event organizers to take costly, unusual steps to keep outdoor festivals running.
Edmonton's Folk Music Festival is trucking in tonnes of sand and pumping out standing water in an effort to keep its grounds usable, as the city experiences its wettest summer on record.
The measures are meant to prevent the outdoor event from becoming the latest casualty of the season's persistent rain, which has already disrupted other outdoor activities and events across the city.
Organizers did not specify exact quantities of sand used or provide a cost for the mitigation work, but the effort reflects the scale of the soggy conditions faced by outdoor event planners this summer.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.