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Seeing the big picture

Pemberton Festival organizers discuss logistical details with community
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Mapped Out Live Nation organizers recently released the site plan for the upcoming Pemberton Festival

If a bear wanders onto the site during Jay Z’s set, or a train happens to go off the tracks, organizers of Pemberton Festival will have the situation under control.

That’s just one of the messages Shane Bourbonnais, president of North American touring and business development for Live Nation, had for local residents on Monday evening.

At a meeting held at the Pemberton Meadows Golf Club, Bourbonnais addressed a throng of locals who were eager to be brought up to speed on the progression of plans for the inaugural musical extravaganza. With Coldplay playing in the background, members of the community mingled over drinks and appetizers, chatting over plans for the impending extravaganza of fun and festivities.

So far the three-day festival has attracted a huge amount of international media attention, with publications like the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine covering the event, and there have been over 552,000 searches made on Google for Pemberton Festival.

“The world’s interested in Pemberton and Pemberton Festival and what’s going on this summer,” Bourbonnais said.

Organizers finally revealed the site plan at Monday’s meeting. The 360-acre festival site will feature at least five parking lots, ten shuttle routes and multiple camping areas.

RV camping will be across Highway 99 at the airport, near staff camping and event parking. The main festival site, on the Ravens Crest property, is flanked on all sides by regular camping sites, with Mount Currie as a backdrop.

While organizers have capped attendance at 40,000 people, which includes concertgoers, security, volunteers and performers, Bourbonnais said it could actually support 65,000 to 70,000 people.

When they last met with members of the public in March to announce the festival, Bourbonnais admitted he was a bit unsure of how people would respond to camping.

“Well, the good news is everyone wants to camp!” he said, adding that they are expecting 19,000 people to take part in the “camper’s dream,” which will include conveniences like general stores and showers.

Public safety was a focal point of the presentation. There will be 100 RCMP officers on duty during the festival compared to the four that typically work in the area, plus an additional 380 security officers from Genesis Security. They also have a fire protection plan in place, developed with help from local fire enforcement officials, two helicopters on standby, equipped with water buckets in case of a fire, and a self-sufficient on-site hospital staffed with a complete medical team.

“We’re going to be able to handle anything in that hospital,” Bourbonnais said.

The festival has also been touted as being “green” from the very beginning, and at the meeting Bourbonnais outlined some of the initiatives they have worked into the event to ensure it lives up to that claim. Environmental consultants at Pottinger Gaherty have developed a program to prepare the site and minimize impact on the land, removing soil and storing it, and temporarily installing geotech and gravel in its place. A Squamish-based company, EcoNatural, has also come on board to calculate the carbon footprint of the event, which organizers will attempt to offset by planting trees. Finally, organizers are encouraging concertgoers to use PickUpPal, a carpooling program, to coordinate transportation to and from the site.

The festival, which is being touted as having the best line-up in North America this year, will feature performances by 101 artists over the course of three days.

Among the plethora of performers entertaining the crowds many local performers are also being incorporated into the festivities, allowing them to play in front of their hugest audiences yet and work with some of the biggest international talents in the world.

The Barn Dance Tent will host a daily pancake breakfast and performances by performers from Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.

Among many of the local acts on board to perform in the Barn Dance Tent are Dale and the Coolers, Papa Josh, Kostaman and The Vibrations, and Altered Beast.

“We’re going to do that Barn Dance very proud, I promise you that,” Bourbonnais said to a chorus of laughter.

The Barn Dance Tent will also play host to outdoor recreation companies during the day.

“We really want people to get out there and explore,” Bourbonnais added.

Paul Selina, president of the Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce, said they are looking forward to the volunteer and employment opportunities that will come from the festival, adding that the creation of the Pemberton Community Foundation will offer financial and spiritual growth for the community, with $3 of each ticket sold going towards the fund. An additional $25,000 will also be given to Barn Dance organizing groups.

Susie Gimse, director of Area C of the SLRD, practically glowed as she spoke of the upcoming event, saying with a laugh “it’s going to be bigger than the Olympics.”

Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy also seemed enthusiastic about the progression of plans for the festival, but said that “it’s not without its risks.” The Village of Pemberton staff are working on a special addition for their website to gather feedback from the community on the event to ensure they can properly weigh the risks and benefits afterwards.

To help keep Pemberton residents informed and alleviate frustration during the festival, Bourbonnais said they would be providing community information hang tags, which will provide information on the peak travel times between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., festival hours, and shuttles.

With over 32,000 tickets already sold, Bourbonnais summed things up pretty succinctly: “The world’s coming to Pemberton.”