The 2018 Bow Valley Jamboree may have been dampened by bouts of summer rain, but that didn鈥檛 stop the crowds from coming out and supporting the event.
The annual festival, which featured a variety of musical acts throughout the day, took place July 28 at the Bow Valley Park south of Oxbow and was hosted by the Oxbow Arts and Cultural Committee.
Event spokesperson Lori Moncrief said the event exceeded the committee鈥檚 hopes and will continue into the future.
鈥淭his years Bow Valley Jamboree was a successful event, we had a great crowd, great food, and all of our vendors were happy with their day and we were excited to show off the brand new stage that will be a part of the bow valley,鈥� said Moncrief.
The weekend was an extremely busy time in the area with several other notable events that could have hindered audience attendance at the jamboree.
鈥淲e were competing with baseball playoffs, provincial speed swimming and the Minot fair, but overall we were really pleased with the day. We鈥檝e changed the event date in the last few years and that is something we as a committee will have to continue looking at,鈥� said Moncrief.
鈥淓ach of the acts we featured were really solid. We鈥檙e also really proud of the fact that we鈥檙e able to feature young people from the area and give them a shot to do some performances, they need a stage and support to continue to grow.鈥�
Downwind, a musical group featuring musicians from the southeast Saskatchewan area opened the show. Followed by notable performances from Val Halla, a singer, songwriter and guitar player, the Oral Fuentes Band, who consist of members from Belize, St. Lucia, Ghana, Nigeria, Seattle, Victoria and Saskatoon, Call me Mildly, a Regina based blues and rock band with reggae inspired sounds, Coal Creek Station a bluegrass and folk collaboration, The New Montagues from Regina and Method 2 Madness who are known for their cabaret and club performances dating back to the 1990s. As well, various other younger artists from neighbouring communities were given the opportunity to take the stage and begin making a name.
Also featured were several local vendors, a play area with bouncy castles and face painting for children, a beer gardens and multiple food vendors.
The jamboree will continue into the future with the possibility of minor tweaks to small aspects according to Moncrief.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to our committee to sit down in the next two weeks or so, and look at our numbers and learn from this experience. We want to make next year equally successful or even better, but the event will absolutely continue next year, said Moncrief.
We鈥檙e committed to a music festival, and supporting our young musicians. I hope in the future we can have some young musicians from Estevan, some from Carlyle, some from Carnduff and some from Oxbow, so we can draw some people in from neighbouring communities.鈥�
Although there was bouts of summer rain present throughout the day the organizers say that it didn鈥檛 disrupt the day鈥檚 activities.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 think the attendance was hindered by the weather. The crowd scattered for about 20 minutes while it was raining, but then they all came right back,鈥� said Moncrief.
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