Flood damage forces folk festival to move artisan market

One of the landmarks of the Calgary Folk Music Festivalwill not beon Prince's Islandthis yearafter extensive flood damageforced organizers to move the artisan marketjust south of thepark toEau Claire Market.

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Tracy Friesen, who works at one of the stalls, said its not ideal butvendors understand why the move was necessary.

"Think it's a good compromise. I do think they've been trying hard to make everybody happy. It is relatively close by. But, for sure it's not going to have that same feel," she said.

For10 years, Sabrina O'Donnell has enjoyed the sights and sounds of folk music while selling her wares.

"Now we're listening to mall music," she said with a laugh.

Parts of Prince's Island are still being rehabilitated and need time to recover, said city parks department official Greg Stewart.

"We just looked at an island that was completely submerged in water. And then once the flood subsided, it was filled with silt, debris, garbage and extremely damaged," he said.

Aside from having to move the artisan market, organizers succeeded in staging the 34th annual festival as planned.

"We didnt have to cancel any artists, weve kept the programing intact," said Kerry Clarke, the festivals artistic director.

There are also some free performances at the Eau Claire Market site, she said.