What shoes do you wear to Bluesfest when big storms are in the forecast?

People make their way towards security during the opening night of Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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For Charlotte Caron and Nicole Straznicky, it was white cowboy boots.

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While the signature, shin-high boots were the overwhelming fan favourites as festivalgoers awaited country star Cody Johnson on the opening night of Bluesfest, it was the bright, clean pop of these white cowboy boots, and how they contrasted the muddy ground underneath them, that stuck out among the crowd.

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A day of rain was just enough to muddy the festival grounds at LeBreton Flats, as puddles of water already started pooling along the sides of the paved pathways and along the well-trodden grass paths between stages.

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So, one could consider clean white footwear to be a bold choice in these less-than-clean conditions. But these two just shrugged it off.

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“They’re cheap and they’re easy to wipe off,” Straznicky said, adding they weren’t necessarily going out of their way to avoid the growing mud puddles.

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Charlotte Caron and Nicole Straznicky, wearing their white cowboy boots, pose for a photo on the opening night of Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Photo by Natasha Baldin /Postmedia

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For Bronwyn Lambert, it was flip-flops.

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What started as a calculated decision to avoid blisters as she planned to walk to the festival with her friend Nadia Estoppa turned into a twinge of regret when she forgot to change into her rain boots when the pair decided to take an Uber instead.

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Was she feeling any regret?

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“A little bit,” she said, after she finished dodging mud puddles on her way over to see hip-hop trio Digable Planets perform, alongside Estoppa, who was wearing rain boots of her own.

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So, just how rainy was it on the opening night of Bluesfest? Well, luckily for the thousands in attendance, not very.

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People shelter from the rain as they wait for artist Jessie Murph to perform at the Ottawa Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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While there were downpours throughout most of the day leading up to the festival, the threatening clouds mostly held out with the exception of a few brief periods of showers, once the music started.

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Still, unsure of what the forecast had in store, many festivalgoers showed up in ponchos and rain jackets with some carrying umbrellas, in anticipation of the constant rain that had been in the forecast just hours before. During brief periods of rain, the crowd was quick to pull on their hoods and open their umbrellas, shielding themselves from the rain.

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The festival’s website states that, for the most part, the show will go on rain or shine, with stages and equipment designed to handle rain. And for many people, the threat of rain wasn’t nearly enough to keep them away from attending the festival’s opening night.

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“If you like the artist enough, you’ll go rain or shine,” Lambert said, pulling her poncho over her head as rain started to drizzle down.

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Nikki Morry, who also showed up to the festival in her summer signature flip-flops, agreed that bad weather wouldn’t keep her away.