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.”