TOP 12 SUMMER FESTIVALS
Sunfest, ska, Fringe and all that jazz
The summer festival season covers more ground with each passing year, the official start now arriving in May. That gives Vancouver Island programmers four months in which to do their thing, good news for those who like to enjoy their music outside and want choices.
Change is inevitable. And while the rising tide of festival economics has become too much for some organizers to bear — Port Renfrew’s Tall Tree Music Festival took the year off, as did Ucluelet’s Otalith Music Festival — others have returned from respite, tops being Colwood’s massive Rock the Shores. Another festival even changed its name (Cumberland’s Atmosphere Gathering will now operate as Cumberland Wild) as a way of cutting through the stiff competition.
That is the elephant in the room. Festival followers have more choices than ever, and could fill every Saturday and Sunday of their summer with cultural programming of some sort, be it music, art, dance, theatre or food. (Vancouver Island is not alone in this conundrum, of course. Options abound in nearby hubs such as Seattle and Vancouver, but when temperatures rise, the Island can be a more comfortable place.)
Thanks to the organizers, who provide a veritable smorgasbord of options, there is something for every member of the family on a daily basis through Labour Day. The difficult task will be deciding the who, what, where and when. Fear of missing out is very real at this time of year.