Pemberton Music Festival cancelled for 2009

mr.x · #1 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 4:36 AM**

Pemberton Music Festival cancelled for 2009
Lengthy approval process put organizers too far behind

By Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun
January 8, 2009

The Pemberton Music Festival has been cancelled for 2009.

Organization for the concert, which drew more than 40,000 people to the farming town north of Whistler last July, is simply too far behind after a lengthy permit process with the Agricultural Land Commission.

Organizers Live Nation secured a one-year permit to stage the festival on 50 hectares of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve for 2008.

ALC executive director Colin Fry told The Sun the festival could compromise the agricultural capability of the land through soil compaction and contamination.

More than 20,000 ticket holders camped on the festival site during last summer's concert, along with 3,000 festival employees.

But Live Nation business development boss Shane Bourbonnais said the field was in better shape than ever within two weeks of the concert, after a vigorous cleanup.

The ALC eventually agreed and after approvals by ALC directors and other local boards a new permit was issued Nov. 18, more than two months after the Live Nation application.

"By the time we went through that process we didn't feel we could get the top talent and the best contractors to ensure that 2009 would be better than 2008," said Bourbonnais.

"The good news is that when we did get the permit, it was for 10 years," he said.

"We at Live Nation spoke this week and determined that we are going to focus on 2010," he said

Despite the show's popularity, the festival drew criticism for inadequate sanitation and traffic control. Roads in and out of Pemberton were backed up for days.

"We thought we had good plans to deal with sanitation and security last year, but until you take that into the field you just don't know," he said. "So we had significant problems there."

"Then we were late getting out to secure the big names because of the permitting," he said.

"We made a commitment to the community that if we can't bring back the talent like we had in 2008 and we can't fix the logistical problems that we would not bring [the festival] back," Bourbonnais said.

Live Nation had a line on a top traffic contractor, but lost them as the permit process dragged on, he said.

Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy said local response to the festival was "overwhelmingly positive."

The concert generated about $35 million in economic spin-offs and fuelled the busiest weekend of Whistler's summer season.

The owners of the field were even able to get one crop of hay off before the concert set-up in 2008.

Pemberton 2008 drew top performers such as Jay-Z, Coldplay and Tom Petty.

Rolling Stone, the New York Times and others gushed about the quality of the acts and the setting.

rshore@vancouversun.com

MistyMountainHop · #2 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 4:42 AM**

Damn, that sucks. Oh well, I'll be away next summer anyway.

David · #3 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 5:51 AM**

sounds good. i missed last year but i am definitely looking forward to seeing who we might get lined up for future years!

dreambrother808 · #4 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 6:01 AM**

At first the article seriously depressed me, but that guarantee of 10 years definitely raised my spirits.

zivan56 · #5 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 6:14 AM**

It's 7 months away and they can't get permits in time? Who the f**** put all the bureaucratic bullshit on place???
It sounds like something that would take place in a 3rd world country, where officials want bribes or delay your project forever.

David · #6 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 6:51 AM**

they got the permits in november... the problem seems to be that that isn't enough time to line up good acts

Distill3d · #7 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 7:07 AM**

Personally, I think the Pemberton Festival should be moved to Chilliwack or Agassiz.

giallo · #8 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 7:33 AM**

I had an absolute blast at Pemberton. It really was a class act all the way. I really don't know what they'll do regarding traffic in the future though. While most people were willing to forget about it due to the great time they had, I was seriously concerned for my safety when traveling back to Vancouver. A lot of frustrated drivers started trailing the musicians vans driving in the opposite lane. We had to drive on the shoulder of the road just to avoid them.

Stingray2004 · #9 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 9:05 AM**

Quote:

ALC executive director Colin Fry told The Sun the festival could compromise the agricultural capability of the land through soil compaction and contamination.

Yeah right.

Quote:

Organizers Live Nation secured a one-year permit to stage the festival on 50 hectares of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve for 2008.

That's the REAL reason. That same reason was also reported after last summer's festival for not going ahead again in 2009. It's all about the ALR land that the festival is held upon.

Quote:

The owners of the field were even able to get one crop of hay off before the concert set-up in 2008.

And high-quality ALR Class 1 land at that.

Pemberton, 2008: 40,000 people on 124 acres;
Woodstock, 1969: 500,000 people on 600 acres; (dairy farm)

Woodstock Dairy Farm today: (It's in very rough shape... ain't it?)

nickinacan · #10 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 5:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distill3d

Personally, I think the Pemberton Festival should be moved to Chilliwack or Agassiz.

I say Cloverdale. It is easier to get to and has the amenities to hold something like that as they hold the Rodeo there every year.

Distill3d · #11 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 9:09 PM**

i would agree with you, but Cloverdale already has the Rodeo and the Canada Day celebrations.

save for proximity to Cultus Lake and Harrison Lake, Chilliwack and/or Agassiz have nothing to increase tourism. they both have large parcels of land surrounding them to host this event.

vanlaw · #12 Posted **Jan 9, 2009, 9:51 PM**

^^^

I recall back in early 90's there were some large concerts held at Seabird Island, just east of Aggasiz - I belive it was "Another Roadside Attraction. I know the Hip performed one year - it seems to me they held it two years in a row, but it may have only been once.

djh · #13 Posted **Jan 12, 2009, 2:27 PM**

I have a feeling there's more to this festival not going ahead than government bureacracy slowing it down. I bet there is competition on the horizon.
Remember a few years ago Virgin made a foray into the North American concert market and did their V Festivals in Vancouver one year (?2006?) and Toronto I think (?2007?)? I bet they have come back with an even bigger and better event than Pemberton, and with the Virgin name behind them they can book anybody they want - thereby taking the wind from the sails of the Pemberton festival.

I'm sure before the spring comes around there will be some announcements for major gigs.

dreambrother808 · #14 Posted **Jan 12, 2009, 9:22 PM**

Pemberton was a Live Nation event, no? Live Nation is THE major player when it comes to concerts, most likely eclipsing the powers of Virgin.
They have exclusivity deals with artists such as Madonna, U2, Jay-Z, even *groan* Nickelback.

From their website:
"Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 16,000 concerts for 1,500 artists in 57 countries."
livenation.com