Let’s welcome festival-goers to our cool little city. Most days we are a youthful energetic mini metropolis of about 20,000 people who live here because of its breathtaking landscapes and ocean vistas, endless outdoor bounty, proximity to “Big Smoke,” great friends and friendly neighbours.
We’re far from perfect but we know this. Imperfection means we’re always learning about what makes us tick as a community. But most, if not all of us who live here, think Squamish is a pretty wonderful place, warts and all.
Our numbers swell every weekend as we host a multitude of sport, recreation and cultural events and festivals. Pilgrims now come to Squamish in droves for many reasons: Eagles Festival, Test of Metal, Sikh Parade, Squamish Triathlon, Beer Festival, Wind Festival… the list goes on. Last weekend we celebrated the 58th Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival. This is the granddaddy of Squamish festivals that continues to draw thousands of visitors from around the globe. But all of these are modest when compared to the 30,000-plus who will be here each day of this weekend for the increasingly epic Squamish Valley Music Festival. Welcome!
Visitors bring a hum to our shining valley, and we welcome it. They have helped us realize how awesome we can be yet still stay grounded in our sense of place. They bring welcome commerce to our restaurants, hotels, shops and amenities and make us feel even younger for the three days they are here and for several days following the festival. They bring youthful energy and creativity and immerse themselves in brilliant music in our spectacular natural environment. And I suspect all fall a little bit more in love with Squamish every day that they are here. And the infatuation is mutual.
Festivals are about music, art, people and atmosphere. And it is our atmosphere that we must collectively safeguard. To keep this wonderfully artistic and positive energy, we ask a few simple things of festival-goers:
Please respect Squamish’s natural spaces. They are a teeming ecosystem and precious to us. Clean up your waste and for good measure, pick up someone else’s waste too; it’s simply the right thing to do. Music-festival goers have a dreadful reputation of being wasteful hedonists. Let’s write a different script here in Squamish. Keep the chill vibes; decide not to be that festival idiot. I guarantee we will have a far better time if festival-goers are safe and look out for each other.
Festival organizers and staff at the municipality, as well as hundreds of volunteers, have put their heart and soul into creating a spectacular festival. Let’s dance our hearts out, grin until our faces hurt, hydrate, respect everyone and everything around us, be safe and build great memories.
