Bonnyville supports Extreme Mudfest

The Town of Bonnyville Council voted to support Extreme Mudfest with a $2,500 donation to help cover the cost of busing. The Town also supported waiving the fee to use Kushnir Field ball diamonds and gave access to the south side of the rodeo ground for parking.

The 4th annual festival will be held on the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo & Chuckwagon grounds the weekend of August 23-26. The festival draws in thousands of attendees and features a demolition derby with live music each night.  In addition to nightly performers, there is a slowpitch tournament and an Extreme Mud Run. There is on-site camping, vending, parking and a pavilion for those wanting to party long after the concerts end.

In the past, the Town of Bonnyville has supported Mudfest by donating $2,500 to go towards the cost of busing. Buses are used to safety transport people from the grounds to the baseball diamonds, as well as to local hotels.

It was also requested that the Town waive the fee at Kushnir diamonds and allow for access of the south side of the rodeo grounds for parking.

The Town approved all three requests.

An update on the event was given to Town Council by organizer Billie Jo Aasen. Aasen noted that they lost funds the previous year due to expansion of entertainment costs. “We took a bigger risk last year, with bigger headliners and it’s paid off. We can see it in our ticket sales.” Last year, the event featured Three Days Grace and Dallas Smith.

Thanks to the attention those headliners received, Aasen stated that ticket sales for this year’s event are tracking better than any year previous. This year the event welcomes Theory of a Deadman and Terri Clark.

The organization works with charitable groups in the Lakeland to help execute the event. “We are reaching out to different groups. We do our parking and bartending,” Aasen stated that in past years the Cold Lake Penguins Rugby Club, the Bonnyville Pontiacs, and the Friendship Centre have all helped and benefited financially from the event. “We also have the Boys Scouts come and do our cleanup and bottles. We pay them and they get to keep our cans & bottles.”

The organization is looking for more volunteer groups to help execute this year’s event. For more information on volunteering or to purchase tickets to Extreme Mudfest, visit them online at: extrememudfest.com.