Hunter Brothers, Block Parents return to Country Thunder in Craven

WATCH: Country Thunder officially kicked off on Thursday, with the Hunter Brothers taking the stage at the beer gardens. Damian Smith has more.

One of Saskatchewan’s summer staples, Country Thunder, has made its way to Craven for the 42nd edition in its history.

The festival, which kicked off on Thursday, hits home for The Hunter Brothers, who grew up in Shaunavon.

“Craven is one of those places that’s a bucket list item, where you want to play on your own turf,” said Ty Hunter, a singer with the Hunter Brothers. “You want to play in your own province, and having this festival being a little bit iconic in our province, it’s something that you obviously want to do at some point.”

“So it’s been fun to experience both the main stage and the beer garden stage,” he added.

It’s the third time that the five brothers are performing on these grounds - just three and half hours away from Shaunavon.

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While entertainment is the ultimate goal, Country Thunder is keeping an eye out for safety, especially during the middle of the summer. During Wednesday’s setup, temperatures reached upwards of the mid 30’s.

The “Block Parents,” who have originally attended since 2004, have a new title around the campground. They seek out to guide those who are vulnerable, back to their original campsite.

“People would wander lost and drunk,” said Laura Grey, the mother of the Block Parents. “I always had a map on the back of our camper. Then the next thing you know, we had people coming in that were hot and thirsty, so we just said ‘Here’s some water, here’s some Gatorade.”

The Block Parents will also walk those lost back to their campsite.

The festival runs until Sunday, with Def Leppard closing out the main stage starting at nine thirty, where the band Toque will play the last show at the Beer Gardens at 11 p.m.