Fredericton’s Harvest Music Fest to be as ‘close to normal’ as possible

Fredericton is gearing up for one of its most anticipated weeks of the year: the Harvest Music Festival.

Prior to the pandemic, the festival brought out thousands of attendees. The 2019 show welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors, as well as hundreds of musicians and artists. The last two years looked a little different as the festival moved online in 2020, and in 2021, proof of vaccination was required.

But this year organizers say it’s as close to normal as possible.

“We're encouraging all of our volunteers and all of our audience members to wear well-fitting N-95 masks. That's what our policy is to encourage that,” said Jeff Richardson, general manager of the festival. “We've adjusted some of the venues in really exciting ways to create more open-air spaces.”

Richardson says there are more free concerts and entertainment throughout the downtown core this year, something he hopes will encourage more people to enjoy the festival experience.

City businesses are looking forward to this time of year too.

Summer has been positive for COVID-19 recovery, but it’s going to take more time, says Fredericton’s Chamber of Commerce.

“I think it will take a long time for businesses to financially recovery from two years of staggering losses in some cases. And I think that there have been changes that we may not go back to what we were before. Our labour market has changed,” said Krista Ross.

But with public schools and universities returning this week, the music festival beginning next week, and more conferences being scheduled throughout the fall, Ross believes things are looking up.

“This is a really busy time of the year and we’re hopeful that is going to be positive for our members,” she said.

Richardson says the festival could still use some more volunteers to help out.

But just over a week out, he’s hopeful that this year’s Harvest will be a success.

“It feels like Christmas morning is coming. It's such an exciting time in the city and I think that that's reflected in the vibe you'll feel downtown and also a lot of the music that's coming,” he said.

“This will be our 31st full festival, and that success is in no small part due to the support we've had from businesses from day one. Almost all of whom were able to stay with us in some form through those tougher years of the pandemic and who are here now and ready to continue supporting.”