The fifth annual Grassy Plains Summer Festival is set to begin this Friday with a 'kick-off' dance Friday night at the Grassy Plains Community Hall.

The festival, is an annual fundraising event for the Grassy Plains Community Hall Society that features live music acts and promotes local vendors, raises community awareness of the hall and its facilities and provides entertainment for families over the course of the weekend.

The community hall society is a non-profit organization, and is responsible for the management and upkeep of the Grassy Plains Community Hall and its grounds.

The funds to help with the upkeep are raised through annual events, such as the summer festival, local grants, private donations and volunteer hours from community members.

This year's festival is a two-day affair, Saturday and Sunday, with the kick-off dance Friday night, which will feature a performance by the Black Spruce Bog, a group that mixes a bluegrass and folk sound with jazz and rock and roll.

The two day festival is a change from previous years when the event was over the course of three days, beginning on Friday and ending on Sunday night.

Other changes to this year's festival include moving the festival outside.

The community hall society had an outdoor stage build last year.

In previous years, aside from the vendors, horse rides and children's games, the majority of the festival had been held inside, including the musical performances.

"There were many suggestions from attendees that the festival would be so much nicer if it was hosted outside. So we are pleased to say that this year it will be an outdoor event," Jan Owens, one of the festival organizers said.

For families looking to attend the festival this year, Saturday will be family fun day.

There will be plenty of events for kids to enjoy, such as pony rides, a bouncy castle, face painting and games.

Owens believes the summer festival is so successful because the organizing committee listens to comments from the festival goers, is always looking to expand the event, is improving facilities and isn't afraid to make changes to the event.

In recent years they have added the family fun day, invited local vendors to set up in the grounds and improved their indoor stage with better sound and lighting equipment.

The successful experiment with a portable, outdoor stage two years ago gave the committee confidence that they could go forward with the permanent outdoor stage, which they expect to enhance the festival further.

"Each year has been more successful than the previous one," Owens said. "We keep the events that are well received and add new ones in response to festival goers suggestions."

The musical flavour of the event has evolved as well, from a mainly country and bluegrass genre, to include genres like jazz and rock and roll.

Changes are made so the summer festival is able to showcase a variety of organizations and talent and present a broad picture of the Southside community.

This year's event includes a number of local musical acts from the Lakes District area, including the Moosehorn Mountain Boys, Mike Robertson and James Loeb, as well as acts from across the province and Western Canada.

Owens says that the renovation of the indoor stage and audience area, along with the construction of the outdoor stage and the increase in professionalism with the lighting and sound setup have increased the desire for musicians to play the festival.

As well, the general enjoyment of the entire weekend and welcome they receive in the community is bringing musicians back and attracting new acts.

"We are now receiving notification well in advance from performers that they are available to participate in the event," Owens said, "In past years we would search for performers that would be interested in attending and we have now noticed that out event is being solicited as a venue by entertainers."

Owens thinks that this year's festival has the potential to be the best so far.

"We truly hope that those who've attended in the past will come again and spread the word that this event is a great weekend of excellent live entertainment with lots of activities that provide interest for everyone," Owens said.