The tents have barely been rolled up and the ears are still ringing from the last act, but Paul Runnals is already looking to next year’s Squamish Valley Music Festival.
“We are still a growing festival,” said Runnals, the festival’s executive producer. “Whether or not we can add another 5,000 people next year or the year after, those are things we will look at.”
He’s exhausted and sleep deprived, he said, but this year’s festival set attendance records, so that makes all the effort worth it.
Despite rain that dampened festivalgoers Saturday, there were about 118,000 site visits over the four days, more than at any of the previous five festivals. Last year the festival saw 105,000 wristbands scanned.
Even though there were more people at the festival, the number of people seen at by the 185 medical personnel on hand at the festival was similar to last year, Runnals said.
The event’s main medical facility was moved from a tent into Brennan Park Recreation Centre, which made things more comfortable for the medics, Runnals said.
Fourteen patients were transferred from the festival to Squamish General Hospital by ambulance because they needed higher level of care than the onsite medical team could provide, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Overall, the hospital saw an increase of approximately 35 per cent each day over its normal emergency volume, a VCH spokesperson said, adding this increase was expected.
Care of festivalgoers ranged from treating musculoskeletal injuries to issues related to the consumption of alcohol or drugs.
“Overall I don’t think there was any difference from last year,” Runnals said. “We do take a little bit of a hyper-vigilant approach to things, but at the end of the day we would rather do that then be on the other end of it.”
With 150 paid festival waste management staff, the massive pile of garbage left after the Pemberton Music Festival in July and feared for the Squamish festival didn’t materialize. The District of Squamish tweeted a photo of a clean venue early Monday morning.
Runnals said for last year’s festival, the focus was on the practical health, safety and logistical issues of accommodating the increase in people. This year, the focus was on the “nice to do list,” Runnals said.
One such addition, the new VIP cabins adjacent to the main stage, were a huge hit, according to Runnals.
“I think we have already sold each suite we had two times over for next year, just based on the experience people had.”
The art pavilion was popular as well, Runnals said, adding that next year the festival will expand into more cultural experiences.
“Music is an anchor and it is a huge piece, but I really want to see what we can do with some of the other aspects of the event,” he said. “That is everything from food and beverage and all the way through to the art and site animation, roaming performers, you name it.”
This year the festival had access to extra camping on Howe Sound Secondary School’s field but didn’t use it.
“The sales going into early July weren’t quite where we wanted them to be,” he said. “So we made the decision that we weren’t going to enact that extra piece and at the end of the day, we probably could have used 100 extra sites, because I think we sold out of everything we had but… it costs a lot of money to run those campgrounds and we had to be sure we were going to recoup that.”
For festival attendee Jeffrey Eum of Burnaby, the campgrounds were a downfall of an otherwise enjoyable event. They were too far from the venue, he said. He preferred the way the Pemberton festival was set up, with camping right beside the venue.
“I liked how it was all together. Here, all the campgrounds were separate,” he said.
“I think the atmosphere [at the camp] in Pemberton was just better because after the shows everyone would still be up and partying, but here everyone is passed out.”
Many other festivalgoers had no complaints about the weekend. Jordan Davidson of Port Coquitlam said the festival was better than he expected.
“It was amazing – it blew my mind,” he said. “Everyone was so friendly.”
Davidson said although things got a little more raucous after dark, he was impressed to see friends taking care of each other to make sure no one was too drunk or left alone.
Davidson’s friend Dylan Todd said that the headliners weren’t as impressive this year as last year, but the overall, the quality of bands was better. “It evened out,” he said. “So many good groups.”
Some of Runnals’ musical highlights of the weekend included Alabama Shakes Sunday night, which he described as “insane,” and Sharon Jones and Porter Robinson Saturday.
Festival attendee Molly Carpenter of the Sunshine Coast attended the festival for the first time and was impressed by the diversity of the performers.
“There was a lot of rap and also alternative music, and it kind of fits to what everyone enjoyed,” she said.
Runnals said a full debrief of this year’s festival will be done in September, then planning will begin anew for next year. But first, he said, he is taking a few days off to catch up on some sleep.
