Bear Creek Folk Festival to return with world-class performance

Garnetta Cromwell got close and personal with her audience at stage 2 at the Bear Creek Folk Festival at Muskoseepi Park in Grande Prairie, Alta. on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Photo by Jesse Boily)

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The Bear Creek Folk Festival launched in 2016.

In the last 10 years, they have grown into one of Alberta’s premier music festivals, with 32 performers, drawing around 7,500 daily attendees to the three-day event on Borstad Hill in Muskoseepi Park.

A crowd filled Borstad Hill at the Bear Creek Folk Festival in Muskoseepi Park on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jesse Boily)

Grande Prairie’s best food trucks set up at the top of the hill, and a large vendor market is on the grounds.

There are many activities for children in the dedicated Kids zone, and the Dream Dance Circus are roaming the park entertaining young and old alike.

The festival features one main stage, presenting music Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings, and a 2 p.m. show on both Saturday and Sunday.

Three “daytime stages” host smaller concerts and workshops on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Dream Dance Circus stops for a photo at the Bear Creek Folk Festival on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (Photo by Jesse Boily)

This year’s lineup includes Tom Cochrane, The Milk Carton Kids, Tenille Townes, The Trews, The War and the Treaty, The Arrogant Worms, Alex Cuba, and many more, including local favourites, Hey Driver.

Hey Driver is led by the dynamic duo of Brent Boivin and Matthew O’Connor. Their take on indie folk is distinctly Canadian.

Brent is a veteran of the Grande Prairie music scene, fronting the Brent Boivin Band for the last few years.

Matthew is a New Brunswick transplant and an incredible fiddle, mandolin, and guitar player, recently nominated for Specialty Instrument of the Year at the 2025 Country Music Alberta Awards. The rest of the band is fleshed out by Colton Bean on drums and Derek Wilder on bass. Their newest single, “Follow The River,” was recorded in GP with local engineer Arjun Roy and is well worth a listen.

Bear Creek has continually brought world-class entertainment to the Peace Region, including past acts such as City and Colour, Sarah McLachlan, and Steve Earle, and also curates an eclectic lineup. Every year, a group you may not have on your radar will impress you.

This writer has had the pleasure of volunteering at the festival for the past four years, and I will be doing so again in 2026.

Since the festival has started selling out every year, it may be your only way in.

They treat their volunteers very well, and it does leave you with a sense of pride that you are part of creating an amazing experience for the region.

Bear Creek Folk Festival takes place August 14 to 16. Children under 11 and seniors 80 and over are free.