Vancouver Folk Music Festival will return in 2023 after all, organizers say

Not quite two months after organizers announced it would be cancelled, possibly forever, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is back on for 2023.

Organizers announced on their website Tuesday that the 2023 Vancouver Folk Music Festival will be held from July 14 to 16 at Jericho Beach Park and will use the 2022 event as a template for this year's. 

"We are working with contractors, artistic advisors, and vendors to make that happen," the announcement reads.

The festival's return is the culmination of efforts to save it that began almost as soon as the cancellation was announced.

On Jan. 17, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society issued a statement saying it had been impossible to finance this year's event due to the soaring cost of hosting live events in the post-COVID era.

The folk festival wasn't the only major outdoor concert facing a cost crunch, and other B.C. music festivals soon announced similar cancellations. 

Before January was over, however, hope for saving the folk festival had emerged. The society's board postponed its annual general meeting – at which it was scheduled to vote to dissolve itself – amid several proposals from interested parties who hoped to keep the festival going. 

Roughly 300 people attended a virtual town hall on the festival's future in early February, after which the board decided to rescind its motion to dissolve the society. 

Later that month, the provincial government announced $30 million in funding to support fairs and festivals scheduled to happen in B.C. between April 1 of this year and Dec. 31, 2024. 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival organizers were encouraged by the announcement, but still uncertain about whether the event would be able to return this year.

Tuesday's announcement removed that doubt.

Organizers said new funders had come forward with "substantial offers" to ensure the event happens this year. They also cited "an outpouring of volunteer support" and assistance from other festivals with booking performers.

"With hard work, the financial picture is more secure and, with other individuals stepping up to support the festival now, we will make it happen," the statement reads.

"We know that our members and audience are the heartbeat of the festival. Your outpouring of support over the last few months has given us the courage and strength to move ahead."