Yellowknife (Apr 23/04) - The Folk on the Rocks music festival earned an honourable mention on a list of great summer music festivals in Canada.

In a Globe and Mail article, which ran last Saturday, Folk on the Rocks was touted as runner-up to the Dawson City Music Festival. Five festivals in all earned the nod from the national newspaper, with five runners-up.

"It's great that somebody out there's heard of you, and knows where Yellowknife is," said Tracey Bryant, Folk on the Rocks' festival director.

"This puts us on the map."

Bryant credits residents, performers and tourists for spreading the word about how great Folk on the Rocks is.

Record attendance

"We've had record attendance since 2001," she said. "We've got great Northern hospitality. The performers are always happy and they talk to each other. And 25 per cent of our attendance are tourists."

Despite taking a few hits in terms of funding this winter, the festival is on track for its 24th annual celebration of music, crafts and culture. Planning has already begun for the festival's 25th anniversary next year.

The City of Yellowknife turned down a proposed increase in the festival's core funding earlier this year. Folk on the Rocks also saw its federal funding affected by the fallout of the sponsorship scandal, though Bryant said the Department of Canadian Heritage is pitching in this year.

Bryant hopes the rest of the shortfall will be made up through attendance and corporate sponsorship.

The music line-up for this summer is coming together and volunteer recruiting has begun already, and will pick up steam in May once a volunteer co-ordinator is hired.