Now that we’ve put away for the cowboy hats and leather chaps for another year, it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy what I consider to be this city’s best festival: The Calgary Folk Music Festival.

But don’t get too excited music lovers.

While the four-day festival does a great job at celebrating music from around the world, it can often bring out the worst kind of people, and they are a definitely a formidable foe.

Last year, I got in trouble for calling them Tarp Nazis, apparently they’d prefer to be called “Tarpies.”  
Regardless, every year, they are the people who race past you to claim the best spots in front of the Folk Fest main stage.  They plant themselves there for the four days – but not because they are dying to see every act.

It seems it’s more important to say they have the best seat in the house, than to actually care who is performing up on stage.

They’ll say they are taking up the real estate because they are music fans, but watching the Tarpies even for a few minutes, you’ll notice that, for the most part, they aren’t even paying attention.

Claiming ownership over a small piece of land is customary at folk fests across North America, but it’s the Calgarians who are getting it all wrong, and artists are starting to take notice.

Last year, numerous bands complained about the fest’s lackluster crowds, because, even though there were tarps as far as the eye could see, the bands were often stuck playing to the backs of people choosing to not pay attention. 

There’s making sure you get a good seat and then there is being just plain disrespectful. While these Tarpies have their backs to the main stage, they should be able to see all the real fans stuck behind the porta-potties. I bet they’d love to share their tarp space with them.

Instead of letting the Tarpies continue to ruin it for the rest of us, it’s time that we take back our folk festival! I’m pledging to get a good seat a folk fest this year, not for all the bands, but if I’m interested in seeing someone (Dallas Green!) I’m going to politely ask a Tarpie to share their spot, and I think you should do the same.

People might give you a look, but this is Canada, the worse you’ll get is a grumble under their breath until they offer you a Timbit.

Mike Morrison is the perfectly bald head behind Mike’s Bloggity Blog. He
also tweets regularly from @mikesbloggity.