Music festivals are a great way to spend a summer weekend, offering a chance to sit back, relax, and enjoy an array of artists and musical sounds. August 9 and 10 locals and visitors alike flocked to Fernie B.C.’s third annual “all indie, all Canadian” music festival: Wapiti. The word “wapiti,” the festival namesake, is another word for elk, and originates from the Aboriginal Shawnee or Cree word “waapiti” meaning white rump.While no elk were spotted at the festival, there were a plethora of festival goers, with estimates in the 1600s. This year the festival hosted indie artist such as Plants and Animals, Loon Choir, No Sinner, Current Swell, and Portage and Main, as well as regional favourites, including the local band Shred
Kelly and Cranbrook’s The Good Ol’ Goats.
Personally, of all the bands I saw over this two day festival, my favourite by far was the Vancouver band Delhi 2 Dublin. Their music, a Bhangra Celtic fusion caught my ears completely off guard, frankly I find it near impossible to describe their musical sound, only the word unbelievable comes to mind. Like nothing I had ever heard before Delhi 2 Dublin captivated my music-loving heart, and it seemed, the heart of Fernie too. The crowd became one during the performance; jumping to the beat of the song, and swaying in unison. It was an amazing moment, and everyone crowding the stage seemed to be completely enthralled in the music- I know that I certainly was.
Music isn’t the only gift Wapiti graced this past summer weekend with, a variety of booths and food trucks gathered in Fernie’s annex park, Wapiti’s festival site, to offer their wares to festival-goers. Such local food favourites as Happy Cow ice-cream, a homemade ice-cream shop, Grassroots Bistro, a vegetarian restaurant, and Yamagoya to Go, the “solar-roaming sushi” food-truck for a sushi house, were just a few of the choices available to hungry patrons. Vendors selling items such a jewelry, clothing, and band merchandise were
also selling their wares, and provided a useful form of entertainment during set changes.
For those thinking of attending next year’s festival, I would recommend watching Wapiti’s site (for the link to which click here) for ticket sales, as discounted pricing is available for those organized festival-goers who purchase tickets ahead of time. This year, the gate price for a weekend pass was $75, and for one day it was $50. Buying in advance not only guarantees a ticket, but also saves money, and sometimes offers additional special perks; this year the day before the festival was to begin there was an unadvertised bonus show available for advanced ticket holders.
So if your interested in supporting Canada’s blooming indie talent and enjoying a weekend of live entertainment in B.C.’s scenic rockies stay tuned for Wapiti 2014!