'It's always a good time': Positive feelings prevail as Country Thunder 2022 winds down

Craven, Sask. -

The 2022 running of Country Thunder Saskatchewan entered its final stretch on Sunday, leaving a positive impact on some of the long-time fans of the festival.

“It’s always a good time, it’s the people that make it a good time and the entertainment,” Rhonda Navin, a 30-year veteran of the annual festival in Craven said.

Navin told CTV News she began coming to the festival with her parents and siblings three decades ago. Now, she attends the annual fixture of the prairies with her own children.

For them, the festival is a generational event and one she’s keen to come back to.

“I just bought my tickets for next year and my campsite,” she added. “It’s just always a good time.”

Vickie Miller is a 32-year veteran of the festival and has witnessed the name and even types of music change over the years. For her, the festival is a celebration and a reason to reunite with friends.

“I love Craven,” Miller said with a laugh. “I love the friendship and the people, I call it the family reunion of friends. It’s just wonderful to be here.”

This year’s iteration of the festival was marred by exceedingly hot temperatures and some longer lines than usual.

However, these issues and some others didn’t change Barb Didi’s opinion of the event. She believed that the festival at Craven was arguably the best in the region.

“Well we’ve been around to a lot of different country music festivals and this is one of the better ones that there is,” Didi explained. “We’ve been in Manitoba, we’ve been in Alberta and this one we like a lot better than the other two provinces.”

This appreciation from the fans was acknowledged by the organizers who were well aware of the diversity of their attendees.

“We’ve had people that this is their first time coming and they loved it. We’ve had people that have been coming for 38 years, which is pretty cool,” Megan Benoit, spokesperson for Country Thunder, explained.

Despite the three year gap, Benoit said that organizers were impressed with the turnout.

“You know being back together, we’re super grateful that the fans showed up and the last couple years didn’t scare them away,” Benoit said.

“It was a great weekend and we’re excited to come back next year.”