Bengough will open its doors to thousands flocking to the 13th annual Gateway Festival on July 21-23. The festival promises fun entertainment for the whole family with children aged 12 years and under having free entrance. Gateway takes place in the Bengough Regional Park at the south end of Main Street.聽
The festival offers a mix of musical genres that will please every taste. There is continual entertainment taking place at different stages. As one act performs on one stage, the second stage is prepared for the next act. One of the top acts is Tom Cochrane who takes the stage with Red Rider, said Gateway committee board member Lois Giraudier. Other headlining performers include 54-40 and the Sadies who attended the festival last year. Also, the popular Jess Moskaluke from Saskatchewan, the Canadian country music female artist of the year, brings her two top 10 hits and more to the Gateway stage.聽
Other artists include Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Lindi Ortega and Basia Bulat. The festival will also feature local favourites the Badlands Country Band. For the past decade, Badlands has covered top 40 country hits, country classics and some classic rock hits playing at local pubs, weddings, rodeo dances, music festivals throughout southwest Saskatchewan.聽
This year, the children鈥檚 activities have been expanded. For example, there will be children鈥檚 entertainers on Saturday and a science show that will demonstrate the launching of a rocket. The perennial favourite little train ride will be back. In addition, there will be activities such as bouncy castles, face painting and circus activities going on all weekend. Offsite, parents can take their young ones to play on the newly-installed play set at the park, or they can visit the swimming pool next to the park.聽
Gateway Festival also includes a number of additional activities. This year, the pancake breakfast runs for all three days of the festival, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 8 to 11 a.m. There is a walking tour and a 鈥渃ulture crawl鈥� starting at the gazebo on Saturday at noon that visits significant points around town such as the museum and coal mine, and ends at the swimming pool. Some of the artists from the Gateway stages will perform for free uptown at the swimming pool stage on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. It will also feature workshops and songwriter circles from a diverse group of festival performers.
A variety of food trucks, vendors, and artisans will be attending the Gateway Festival on the festival grounds. Bengough offers visitors a number of amenities. Camp sites are located next to the festival grounds which have access to hot showers and washrooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a cook shack, and the golf course. Businesses like the grocery store in town can provide any other needed items. And people don鈥檛 have to go to the festival to win. They can purchase a 50/50 ticket ahead of time for a chance to win.聽
Gateway鈥檚 success can be attributed to the high level of volunteerism in the community. Volunteers are taking ownership of the festival, Giraudier explained. 鈥淭he volunteering is unbelievable,鈥� she added. As an example, she notes that when it came time to set up the play structure, so many volunteers came out to help that it was set up in one day.聽
The Gateway Festival promises entertainment for the whole family. The organizing committee notes that tickets are going fast.聽
