For their 10th anniversary, the Lac du Bonnet festival is bringing back some fan favourites and offering expanded amenities. They’ll have two sites available for camping, one outside the festival gates and one along the waterfront. 

And even as a smaller festival, they’ve hit some impressive markers in the last year. 

“Travel Manitoba, they ran an online contest pinning all these amazing festivals against each other, and we were named the champions,” marketing and promotions director Cyndi Mitchell says.

To thank their fans, they’re bringing back some of the acts that their loyal audiences loved.

Alberta songwriter Andrew Scott will make his fifth appearance at this year’s festival. 

“I think it’s fair to say the festival wouldn’t be the same without him. He just brings this kinda country, rootsy feel to it,” Mitchell says.

Local favourites Micah Erenberg and Richard Inman will also return, and for a bigger name they’ve got Danny Michel for his only Manitoba tour date for the summer.

Once the artists arrive, then they add their own charm to the event, especially at the indoor workshop stage where audiences (and festival planners) can expect to find some fun surprises.

“It’s a little bit more up close and personal type (of) setting, and a lot of our artists who are performing on that indoor stage will then change over and do a hands-on activity with the audience,” Mitchell says. “The artists come out and it’s as much their festival as it is ours.”

Published in Volume 70, Number 27 of The Uniter (June 2, 2016)