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Prepping for Pemberton Festival

Everything you need to know to survive – and thrive – at the inaugural musical extravaganza
1530fest
Bird's Eye Organizers recently released a detailed site map, which allows festival goer's to get the lay of the land

With only one day to go until Pemberton Festival, people are packing their bags and asking a lot of questions, anxiously trying to anticipate what this three-day event has in store. After quizzing Shane Bourbonnais, president of North American touring and business development for Live Nation, the company putting on this massive show, and obsessively perusing the festival’s website, Pique presents your local guide to the Pemberton Festival.

A brief history

Bourbonnais has invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears in making this event a reality. He first envisioned Pemberton as the perfect site for a European-style music festival last summer, and after some serious collaboration with local and provincial government agencies, businesses, and community members, Pemberton Festival was born.

So far, Bourbonnais is extremely pleased with how things are coming together, even just a few days shy of the big event. He admits that it’s been a learning process, like any other first-year operation, but seems confident that everything will run smoothly.

“This weekend was really essentially like weekdays of work,” he said with a small sigh. “We had crews out pulling 12-hour days both days, but that’s how it should be, right?”

The response to the brand-new event from the music loving public and major media has far exceeded anyone’s — even Bourbonnais’s — expectations. Back in March, Bourbonnais gave a hopeful estimate of 25,000 to 30,000 attendees. Now, the event is poised to sell out completely, which means that, come this weekend, almost 40,000 people will be making their way along Highway 99 to Pemberton to partake in the fun and festivities.

They’re still seeing steady ticket sales, with campgrounds completely sold out and only a handful of VIP passes and single day tickets left for each day.

“We just hope that people come and have a great time and really experience an event that is really world-class, that we have in our backyard,” he said. “So just come and enjoy it and have a great time and experience the magic in the mountains.”

What to pack, and what to stash

It’s time to pack! Here are a few key items you should remember to bring along to make sure your first Pemberton Festival experience is memorable.

You’ll probably want a camera, cash (though there will be ATMs on site), ID, medical card, sunglasses, hat, blanket to sit on, water bottle, sunscreen and bug spray for your time at the festival site. If you’re camping, don’t forget to pack some snacks, a hooded sweatshirt, boots (in case it rains, touch wood), camp stove, garbage bags, lantern or flashlight, batteries, and a flag or balloon to mark your site.

But forget about bringing your weapons, chains, bear spray, CamelBak, Spanish wine skin, glass containers, outside alcohol, drugs, fireworks, stuffed animals and instruments altogether, and leave your chairs and umbrellas at the campsite, because you won’t be permitted to bring them onto the festival grounds.

Getting to and from the festival

Organizers have been working the “green” angle on the festival since the get-go, encouraging people to catch shuttles or buses up to the site, rather than take their own cars.

This is partially because of environmental concerns, but also for practical reasons: traffic flow will be an issue on Highway 99, and if 40,000 people decided to take cars, well, the commute could be a nightmare.

But Bourbonnais points out that they’ve developed a comprehensive traffic management plan, which the Ministry of Transportation is very pleased with, and they’re not anticipating any major problems. He said the traffic situation should be comparable to Whistler during Christmastime, except without the ice and snow to make things worse. But accidents do happen, and Bourbonnais said emergency crews will be on stand-by to deal with any situation that may arise.

They’ll have a free shuttle service running throughout the weekend with three main routes running between the campgrounds, Pemberton Village, and parking areas each day of the festival. There’s also a separate shuttle service offering transportation between Whistler Village and the festival site. Initially, the service was offered for $90, but the price has recently gone up to $160. For more information on shuttle times and costs, check www.pembertonfestival.com and click on the Travel Information link under Event Info. The shuttle schedules will also be posted on-site, so don’t panic if you can’t remember all of the times.

Another option for getting from the surrounding area to the festival site is to bike. There will be a bike lock-up area, so you don’t have to worry about your coveted ride vanishing while you’re swaying to the music.

But, if you decide to take your car, fill it with four or more people and you’ll not only park for free, but you’ll likely be given preferential parking which is within walking distance of the festival site. Carpool: it’s eco-chic.

If you’re smart, you’ll purchase your parking ticket in advance. Otherwise, organizers warn that lineups can be long, and they’ll only be accepting cash. Passes are $50 for campers, if you don’t have a full vehicle, $90 for people with three-day passes, but who are staying off-site. Motorcycle parking for all three days is $45. To purchase parking passes in advance, visit ________________.

Finally, to minimize your time spent waiting in traffic, avoid traveling during peak times (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, heading towards the festival, and from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. Sunday evening and Monday morning, leaving the area.)

Checking in

To avoid a potentially massive lineup on Friday, take advantage of advance check-in. Head to the Hyatt Regency Vancouver today from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., or tomorrow from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., or at the Blackcomb Day Lodge today from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., or Sunday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to exchange your ticket for the necessary wristbands. Or, if you’re carpooling with four or more people, or have a VIP pass, head to the Creekside parkade for advance check-in today from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., or tomorrow from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

“We want people to have a nice, smooth, check-in experience,” Bourbonnais explained.

If you don’t have a chance to trade your ticket in prior to the festival, regular check-in takes place at the Pemberton Airport for those traveling from the south, and at the Pole Yard for people coming from the north. Campers can check in as early as 10 a.m. Thursday, while those with day passes must wait until 10 a.m. Friday.

Where to set up shop

Those who have invested in the full festival experience (read: purchased a camping pass to go along with their three-day ticket), will have access to toilets, a cooling station, shower trailers, a general store, and a campground chalet that serves alcoholic beverages from noon until 10 p.m., and other drinks and food from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m.

All of the campgrounds open up on Thursday at 10 a.m., and spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you’re hoping to establish a small village of tents with your nearest and dearest friends, make sure you arrive together, so your 10 foot by 10 foot plots can be side by side.

With all of the camping sold out, and accommodation in Pemberton booked long ago, there are still those who haven’t sorted out their lodging for the weekend.

“I know there are some accommodations left in Whistler, and that’s really where we’re telling people they should be looking for places to sleep,” Bourbonnais said.

Of course, they’re expecting that the odd person will try to pitch their tent on surrounding lands, but Bourbonnais stresses that they have some serious plans in place to make sure rogue campers are uprooted, immediately.

“We actually just finished a meeting with all of the authorities of the area, essentially, and rogue events and rogue camping will not be permitted, and that will be enforced by the RCMP,” he said.

The other option is to get in touch with family or friends who have places in Pemberton, and see if they can spare some room on their couch or lawn.

Bourbonnais said they are well aware that lots of locals will be opening up their homes, and lawns to people, and said that certainly isn’t a problem. In fact, he said they’re happy to see that the festival is bringing people to the area.

“It’s great, because a lot of people who live in Pemberton say, ‘wow, I can never get anyone to come and visit, but now everyone wants to come for this weekend!’” Bourbonnais said with a laugh. “…It’s great — that’s what we want. We want people to come and enjoy Pemberton.”

Dealing with a (potentially) rowdy crowd

Anyone who has been to a multi-day outdoor music festival before knows that the combination of sunshine, amazing music, booze, and more can lead to some craziness. But Pemberton Festival organizers stress that safety is their number one priority, so they’re being strict about alcohol consumption, and are bringing in 100 members of the RCMP and 380 officers from Genesis Security to make sure that people respect their rules, and one another.

While there will be plenty of places to grab a cold drink on site, between the beer gardens, Bacardi B-Live Tent, Barn Dance Tent, and the campground chalet, Bourbonnais couldn’t confirm how much a brew would be going for, but he did reaffirm the fact that people won’t be allowed to bring in outside alcohol.

“We want this festival to be about the music and the good times,” Bourbonnais said.

If you’re caught trying to bring it in, you can count on having to pour the contents out, and hey, that’s never fun.

And when it comes to the issue of drinking and driving, Bourbonnais’ message is simple: “I wouldn’t do it.”

They have extensive plans in place with law enforcement to make sure that the often treacherous trip down the Sea to Sky corridor isn’t made any worse by people who decide to get drunk and get behind the wheel.

(TO RUN AS SIDEBAR)

For more information…

Want to know how Pemberton Festival is impacting locals? See page 48.

To find out more about where to get a bite to eat during the festival, see Epicurious? on page 65.

For a breakdown of the stages and a description of a few performers, see page 73.