Despite a small dip in attendance, organizers behind the Mountain View Music Fest (MVMF) are calling its 2011 edition a success.Musical acts spanning genres that included folk, reggae, blues, rock and country entertained festival goers at Carstairs Aug. 5-7.A rough estimate of the total number of those who attended the three-day festival is about 6,000 people, which is slightly down from last year's totals, said Jason Valleau, MVMF artistic director and co-founder.ìThe festival was nearly full for another year,î Valleau said.ìThat ball diamond could probably have a few more people in it but we're getting to some kind of level of festival that we can at least manage.ìWe've kind of plateaued at something that's not too scary or out of control on us.îValleau believes both the Friday and Sunday shows saw an increase from last year, with Saturday being the slower showing for the annual event.The reason behind the smaller turnout could be attributed to a variety of things, added Valleau.ìIt kind of fell on a strange weekend this year as it wasn't truly the second weekend in August which we put on our flag everywhere,î Valleau said.ìWe didn't do much postering and took a little step back in terms of advertising.îAnother contributing factor could have been the less than favourable weather conditions, including dark skies and the concerning formation of clouds overhead.Beyond that, the weekend was a success on a number of levels, Valleau said.ìI saw another glimpse of a great community stepping up and acting together even through the strength of the storm cloud,î Valleau said.ìEverybody kept close and everybody had an evacuation plan. Everybody had the greater good in mind first.îThe headline act for this year's show was Canadian country music crooner Charlie Major. Major played nine songs for the Saturday night audience, backed by Valleau's band the Polyjesters.ìOnce again, there were some great collaborations, some great friendships made,î Valleau said.In addition to arts in the form of music, the fest was a stage for other creative types, including painters and photographers who showcased and sold their work in the artisans' market located near the mainstage at Carstairs Memorial Park.
