Sled Island fest to work with venues, guests on water-conservation efforts
The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival — the first music festival to run in the city since Mayor Jyoti Gondek declared a local state of emergency on Saturday due to the ongoing water crisis — will be offering “outreach and education” to out-of-town guests to inform them of the situation and provide “valuable water-saving tips for their stay,” while consulting with venues on water-conserving efforts.
But, other than that, the shows will go on.
Opening on Wednesday, Sled Island is a multi-venue, five-day festival that will bring in more than 150 bands from Canada and the U.S. It attracts more than 30,000 attendees. In a statement, Sled Island said it would be collaborating with more than a dozen venues to “understand their specific water conservation strategies.”
On the weekend, The Ship and Anchor, a 17th Avenue venue that will present bands during Sled Island, released a statement on Facebook about its water-conservation efforts. That included only pouring water when requested, using the dishwasher sparingly while maximizing every load, keeping bar wells low on ice and using ice sparingly in beverages. Buckets have also been set up on the patios for leftover water from customer water bottles and glasses to be used for plant watering. They are also rewiring the auto-flushing in restrooms and shortening the time that taps run with each press.
The four-day Calgary Folk Music Festival does not start until July 25 but executive director Sara Leishman said they would monitor the situation as it develops. In a statement sent to Postmedia, Leishman said the festival “anticipates minimal, if any, impacts on our event.”
“If required, the Calgary Folk Music Festival should be able to operate as normal, independently of Calgary's water supply. Of note, Prince's Island Park is irrigated with non-potable water supplied from the lagoon,” the statement read.