The 41st annual Winnipeg Folk Festival kicked off Wednesday at Birds Hills Provincial Park.

During the morning, more than 100 cyclists took part in the fifth annual Bike Ride to Site. They saved about two metric tons of carbon dioxide by not driving to the park, said officials.

Those who decided to take four wheels instead of two to the festival didn't see any major delays as the gates opened at 7:00 a.m., July 9.

Folk Fest has added some new initiatives this year including making a commitment to go plastic water bottle free. You won’t be able to purchase bottled water but you can fill up your bottle at one of five taps.

The site will have an enhanced Wi-Fi signal and charging stations for phones.

Kids under 12 get in free this year at Folk Fest, as long as they’re with an adult.

Parking is also restructured to ensure easy access in and out of the grounds.

Providing food for the volunteers this year will be the award-winning Diversity Food Services, a joint program between The University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation and SEED Winnipeg Inc.

The team made up of 300 volunteers, will cook between 52,000 and 53,000 meals, for everyone helping throughout the week.

Executive Chef Ben Kramer says it takes a lot of prep work.

“(At) Diversity, we have a lot of the same values that Folk Fest has. We source locally. We source organically as much as we can. We make everything from scratch as much as we can,” he said.

Blues legend Bonnie Raitt will headline the opening act of the festival Wednesday night. The 10-time Grammy Award winner hasn’t played the festival since 1988.

Raitt will share the stage with The Bros. Landreth, and Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers.

Other big names performing this year include Ben Harper, Joan Baez and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Executive Director of Winnipeg Folk Fest Lynne Skromeda said the weather is expected to be nice this weekend, but she urges festival-goers to come prepared.

"Bring a hat. Bring sunscreen. Bring bug repellant. Bring a few layers so that way you can be prepared for anything and you can be here from the morning when it starts to the end of the night,” she said.

- with a report from Cheryl Holmes