Pine Needle Mountain Bike & Music Festival

Mike Horn’s passion for the outdoors and love of Little Red River Park sparked a vision that has developed into an amazing annual event; the Pine Needle Mountain Bike & Music Festival goes June 9th, 2019 and is celebrating it’s ninth year. The growing festival attracts thousands of people to Little Red for a fun day of food, music, activities and mountain biking. “It started as how can we attract more people out to the park to ride mountain bikes,” Horn recalls. He says the festival is a great way to showcase Little Red River Park, “It’s a reason to come out to the park and enjoy it, what better than food, music and kid’s activities and really keep it family friendly.”

Attendees can expect a fun-filled day in an amazing setting, “The event is about getting people out there, having a fun day, enjoying the park,” says Horn. Kids will have a blast in the MNP Wilderness Run, bouncy castles and other activities. Local vendors, including Funky Fresh Bistro will be serving up delicious food and drinks so grab a bite to eat, relax in the park and enjoy music from a great lineup of bands. The music aspect of the festival is an area that has really started to grow according to Horn; over the past several years they have featured performers including The Steadies, The Wolfe, Bombargo, All Mighty Voice and Jeffrey Straker.

Photo courtesy Pine Needle Mountain Bike & Music Festival

BIKE EVENT

The 6-Hour Mountain Bike Enduro is the heart and soul of Pine Needle. The event is designed for riders of all skill levels, “We took away some of the challenging aspects of mountain biking and made it a course anyone can ride,” Horn explains. Riders can participate in teams of two or four or as an individual for more of a challenge. According to Horn, riders from other cities continue to support the event and help make it successful, “We had 157 cyclists last year, one of the biggest events in Saskatchewan. We’re trying to grow the teams and grow the support locally. It’s about having fun, enjoying the ride.”

Photo courtesy Pine Needle Mountain Bike & Music Festival

INVESTING IN THE COMMUNITY

Not only is the event a way to showcase and attract people to the park but its also a fundraiser. Funds from pledges and the mountain biking portion of the event are donated back to the community. Since its inception in 2011, the festival has raised and donated over $55 000. Funds have gone to various community projects and organizations including the Rotary Trail and KidSport but it became apparent to Horn that investing in the park would benefit all users. “It made sense to start raising money for Little Red, the home of the event and donate money to projects in the park,” he says. Projects have included a retaining wall on the River Trail, the most highly used trail, to maintain its usability, replacing all the firepits in the park and adding a water bottle filling station in the Cosmopolitan Lodge.

Horn has considered lots of ideas and envisioned a long-term plan for the festival, “I like the size now because its manageable but it’s cool to see where it could go.” For now though, he’s happy with where the event is at and says it’s been lots of fun. “We’re raising anywhere between $8 000 to $10 000 a year now, which is pretty good. I want to continue to keep working for the park and advocating for the park.”

LITTLE RED RIVER PARK

Little Red River Park

Photo by Ed Stringer

The 1200-acre park, Prince Albert’s largest, invites you to explore and connect with nature. The park features the Cosmopolitan Lodge and a 30 km network of multipurpose trails that wind and cut through an ever-changing boreal landscape. Open year round, park goers have endless opportunities including cycling, hiking, walking, tobogganing, snowshoeing, crosscountry skiing and snowboarding. Visitors can also enjoy picnic and barbeque sites, a playground area and the Swinging Bridge, a suspension bridge that crosses over Spruce River.