Calgary’s Sled Island Festival boldly returns after a 2 year hiatus
Posted Jun 25, 2022 2:25 pm.
Last Updated Jun 25, 2022 4:01 pm.
The Sled Island Music and Arts Festival is set to make a full-scale return after being on hiatus for the last couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The five-day event, scheduled at various venues across the city, will celebrate its 15th anniversary by reverting back to its old format after last year’s scaled-back three-day festival last August.
Sled Island originally began in 2007, providing a platform for local artists to showcase their talents. It has grown to almost 250 musical acts, comedy, film, and art exhibitions in multiple venues across the city each June.
“I would say we probably have at least 70 [artists] that are from Calgary. So we do have a lot of local artists that we give the opportunity to play usually in larger venues than they would usually be able to play in,” said Maud Salvi, Executive Director of the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival.
Local musicians are given the chance to open for the big international headliners, allowing the lesser-known artists to create relationships with more established musicians.
“It just gives them a bigger platform and an opportunity to grow their audience, both locally, but also with people who travel to come to the festival,” said Salvi.
For musical acts, they offer a diverse palette for the lineup and Salvi added you can find almost anything and anything to suit your earbuds from pop-rock to hip hop to classical.
But what sets Sled Island apart from other music festivals in the city is that they utilize locations in the inner city as music show venues. This year’s event is utilizing up to 20 different locations.
“A very wide array of different environments creates really unique settings for each and every show,” said Salvi.
Related Article: Calgary Stampede unveils another musical lineup
The festival also contributes to local businesses, with more than 60 plus offering discount deals to pass holders.
“There’s also a lot of small businesses who work with us to offer discounts on their goods and services to all festival pass holders,” said Salvi.
Among the artists scheduled to perform at this year’s event are Sasami, a Los Angeles based Indie-rock artist who is a classically trained musician; Pantayo, which is made up of five queer diasporic Filipinas focused on electronic pop and hailing from Toronto; and Tea Fannie, a local rapper from Calgary.
Even with COVID restrictions being lifted, there are still a number of unique challenges when it comes to organizing an event of this scale.
“Organizing our festival is always this huge puzzle with so many different pieces. Again, the fact that we use so many different locations, that we bring so many artists there [is] a lot of layers, and there are so many things that can go wrong on any given day,” said Salvi, adding that airline cancellations have also affected the event.
Related Article: Calgary summer music festivals return for 2022
While its no longer a mandate, organizers have encouraged staff, volunteers and event attendees to wear masks wherever possible so that they can maintain a safe environment.
“Others are touring musicians for whom getting sick at this point can mean canceling tours, and the financial consequence for them is just really tremendous,” said Salvi.
The festival itself also champions sustainable initiatives and has some eco-friendly options in place, the biggest one being biking as the best mode of transportation.
“We very purposely choose our venues so that they are in a fairly constructed area so that people are able to just hop on their bike and ride to the next venue without having to take their car,” said Salvi.
“And so in order to make that possible we ourselves coordinate to install temporary bike racks in front of all of our busiest venues,” said Salvi.
Salvi also adds they try to limit their eco-footprint for outdoor events including opting for food vendors that utilize compostable cups and plates.
Related Article: Calgary Stampede 2022 a potential lifesaver for local businesses
They also don’t sell plastic water bottles and instead encourage attendees to bring reusable water bottles for their onsite water fountains.
As for how Sled Island shaped the culture of the city Salvi adds that it was a game-changer for the local arts and culture scene.
“Sled Island has really done so much just by bringing all of these artists who would often have never set foot in Calgary before they come to play the festival.”
You can buy a festival pass, including the Discovery Pass, Discovery Plus Pass, or an All-Ages Pass for those under 18, or go just for single tickets. Some events are free including the block party on Saturday.
