If you visited the CKUA tent at a festival this summer, you may have met meagan prus and Laurie Iverson. Both started working at CKUA in early 2023, just in time to begin making festival plans.
meagan has a background in festival production and events/volunteer management, and she’s the operations manager for Edmonton’s Poetry Fest. Laurie is the Artistic Director for North Country Fair. Both have abundant festival experience, with great affection for volunteers and all that they bring to the arts.
When asked what brought them to CKUA, Laurie says, “I’m always excited to support the arts, and artists. I’m thrilled to be a part of the CKUA team.”
meagan agrees, and she mentions the leadership of Karen Howell, CKUA’s Events and Volunteer Manager. “I love the team Karen has built,” says meagan. “We complement each other. We know we need volunteers, and we feel empowered to grow the team and show appreciation for the volunteers.”
Thank you, meagan and Laurie. It was so fun to be back at festivals, knowing that you were guiding CKUA’s volunteers, and making new friends wherever you went.
We asked meagan and Laurie the same five questions so our audience could get to know them a bit better. Here are their answers.
1) What festivals did you work at this summer?
meagan: Medicine Hat Jazz Fest, Calgary Folk Fest, Canmore Folk Fest, Edmonton Folk Fest.
Laurie: Edmonton Folk Festival
2) Do you have a favourite festival moment?
meagan: One of our Edmonton Folk Fest volunteers, Roberta, had her grandson with her. He got the hang of it right away and was a superstar youth volunteer. Oh, and even though it was really challenging, the Canmore Folk Fest hailstorm helped our team bond. We survived and worked together to take down our tent. Seeing the reaction to our presence at the festivals was great, too. Community matters.
Laurie: Working in person with people I had not met before. And when people walked by our tent and shouted out how much they love CKUA. Meeting artists, hosts, staff, and volunteers while we worked together was so meaningful and so fun.
3) What are your essential festival items, the things you can’t live without?
meagan: Water bottle, sunscreen, bug spray. The handheld CKUA fan was also great in the heat!
Laurie: Tote bag, layers of clothes, and a good travel mug.
4) When you’re at a festival, do you go with boots, Crocs, flip-flops, or bare feet?
meagan: My goth Crocs were a weird win.
Laurie: Boots
5) What song would you like to send out to the CKUA volunteers and the wider community?
meagan: “Free Reign to Passions” by Dirty Nil. I love Dirty Nil, a band of three chaos gremlins from Hamilton, ON. Their new album has been on heavy repeat all summer. They rock hard. Their shows are sweaty and wild, and they are so talented and genuinely sweet and wholesome and kind.
Laurie: “Mr. Sauga Goes to the Beach” by Mr. Sauga. I heard this on Marek Tyler’s show, and it has been my jam all summer.
Park Power
