For as long as I can remember, I had imaginings of someday living in the north, specifically Yellowknife, NT. Although I didn’t know much about the place--I had visions of it being the last frontier, a place with wooden sidewalks, dirt streets and swinging bar doors. I did know that travel in the north involved flight as the main mode of transport throughout the territory, an alluring feature in itself considering I loved flying small planes. So, when an opportunity to transfer to Yellowknife came available in 1997, I jumped at it and in June of that year, I was driving north to fulfill my prophecy.
Before I left, I did do some research and was mildly disappointed to discover there were no wooden sidewalks or swinging bar doors. There were a few dirt streets and the airplane thing was real though. After-all, it is the capital of the NWT. I should have known it was a modern city. This account, however, is not specifically to discuss Yellowknife on-the-whole as a travel destination. But to get to this event, you will obviously need to go there. Might as well put Yellowknife on your list of Canadian destinations. There is plenty to do and you won’t be disappointed.
Here I will introduce you to an event in Yellowknife, one that I attended every year for the nearly four years I lived there and on two return visits specifically planned to coincide with Folk on the Rocks. You might deduce from the name that it is a music festival.
Founded in 1980, the Folk on the Rocks music festival is a two-day event held on the shores of Long Lake in Yellowknife every July and accurately bills itself as one of Canada's top summertime music and cultural festivals. The festivities commence on the Friday night before the festival grounds open with the Warm the Rocks parties happening at various venues in the city. The festival draws talent from all over the north as well as well-known professional national and international acts. There are multiple stages on the go at any one time including the main stage where feature performances are held. Food vendors serve up a variety of fares and kids have their own venue on the grounds. Of course, there is a beer gardens with its own stage for the adults. Not if, but when I visit Yellowknife again, it will be during the month of July when The Folk on the Rocks festival is in full swing.
Yellowknife, NT. without Folk on the Rocks is a Canadian destination on its own worth visiting. Now you have an added incentive to put that iconic northern city in your travel itinerary. Google search Folk on the Rocks for details on next years festival dates, ticket purchases and performer line-ups.
Before I left, I did do some research and was mildly disappointed to discover there were no wooden sidewalks or swinging bar doors. There were a few dirt streets and the airplane thing was real though. After-all, it is the capital of the NWT. I should have known it was a modern city. This account, however, is not specifically to discuss Yellowknife on-the-whole as a travel destination. But to get to this event, you will obviously need to go there. Might as well put Yellowknife on your list of Canadian destinations. There is plenty to do and you won’t be disappointed.
Here I will introduce you to an event in Yellowknife, one that I attended every year for the nearly four years I lived there and on two return visits specifically planned to coincide with Folk on the Rocks. You might deduce from the name that it is a music festival.
Founded in 1980, the Folk on the Rocks music festival is a two-day event held on the shores of Long Lake in Yellowknife every July and accurately bills itself as one of Canada's top summertime music and cultural festivals. The festivities commence on the Friday night before the festival grounds open with the Warm the Rocks parties happening at various venues in the city. The festival draws talent from all over the north as well as well-known professional national and international acts. There are multiple stages on the go at any one time including the main stage where feature performances are held. Food vendors serve up a variety of fares and kids have their own venue on the grounds. Of course, there is a beer gardens with its own stage for the adults. Not if, but when I visit Yellowknife again, it will be during the month of July when The Folk on the Rocks festival is in full swing.
Yellowknife, NT. without Folk on the Rocks is a Canadian destination on its own worth visiting. Now you have an added incentive to put that iconic northern city in your travel itinerary. Google search Folk on the Rocks for details on next years festival dates, ticket purchases and performer line-ups.
Unfortunately, I don't have many images on file to fully illustrate the enormity of this great event. Most of the photographs I took of this awesome festival are stored away on film files where they will likely remain forever.
