The second annual Sights and Sounds Arts and Music Festival enjoyed great weather and it showed by the number of people attending this year’s program held over the long weekend.

The festival took place July 29-31 and featured lots of great musicians and artists.

Jane Ireland is Arts Administrator with the Killarney Turtle Mountain Arts Council and she was thrilled with how things went over the three day festival. “It was an amazing weekend and not only did the weather cooperate we had amazing performers and the audience was so into it and created an amazing vibe for the bands and they didn’t want to get off the stage.”

 

The inaugural festival I n 2021 had a lower attendance due to rainy weather.

 

“The weather was glorious this year. It was maybe a bit too hot on Saturday but we all found ways to beat the heat and Sunday it threatened with rain in the morning but it turned out to be just cloudy and cool. It was a beautiful day on Sunday because that was a day people liked to get up and dance.”

Final numbers are being tabulated but Jane Ireland says they will more than double last year’s crowd. “Friday and Sunday were our best days and we had over 100 people on both of those days and that’s just fabulous” said Ireland.

The Arts Council expects to break even with the festival and it’s hoped as the festival grows it will become a money raising event for the council. “Part of it is just being able to bring some really amazing music to the community. We’re really happy if we break even.”

On the music front the arts council goes right into their performing arts series and that’s expected to launch in October. In September the youth arts series will get underway.