Thousands of people flooded Entrance Ranch, 20 minutes from Jasper National Park, for the sixth annual Wild Mountain Music Festival last weekend.
The three-day event attracted people as young as two and as old as 85, said WMMF chairperson Brian LaBerge, who, after the festival, said he was 鈥渢ickled鈥� with how things played out.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 celebrate until Sunday, but Sunday night I dolled out a lot of hugs and high-fives.
鈥淚 think Peter North summed it up when he said, 鈥楾his may be one of Canada鈥檚 best musical festivals.鈥欌��
LaBerge said he doesn鈥檛 yet have the numbers as to how many people attended, but he鈥檚 feeling positive that it was the biggest and best WMMF to date.
If nothing else, he said 鈥渨e certainly had one of the most diverse musical lineups in Alberta,鈥� with everyone from Marco Calliari to Matt Andersen, Elliott Brood and Sam Roberts Band taking the stage on Saturday alone. On Friday, the highlights were David Wilcox and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, while on Sunday it was Picture the Ocean and Fred Eaglesmith.
But it鈥檚 not just the diversity of the music that made the festival such a success, said LaBerge, it was the hundreds of volunteers that gave their time and energy to the event.
WMMF is 100 per cent volunteer run and, although the festival just happened, the volunteers are already brainstorming for next year.
Monday was a rest day, said LaBerge, and Tuesday he and the other volunteers were already back at it, thinking of ways to make the festival even more successful in 2014.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always ways that we can become better,鈥� he said.
听Nicole Veerman
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