The biggest festival ever to hit Squamish won’t run this year.
The 2016 Squamish Valley Music Festival announced Wednesday in an online post on its website that it is cancelling the festival.
“We have made the extremely difficult decision to not proceed with the 2016 festival, due to take place in August,” the statement read. “This decision was not made lightly and we sincerely apologize to all the people this decision affects: the fans, artists, industry partners, corporate partners, suppliers and all of our supporters within the community of Squamish.”
The festival had been scheduled to run Aug. 5 to 7 this year.
No reasons were provided for the decision and repeated calls and emails to Brand Live were not returned.
The annual music festival, produced by Vancouver-based Brand Live Management group and Live Nation Canada, began in 2010.
“It’s difficult to quantify the total impact of the festival, but we know there has been a massive injection of revenue, increased awareness and heightened profile for Squamish,” Squamish Mayor Patricia Heintzman said in a news release Wednesday. “Squamish Fest has helped our town transition to a place that has been recognized on ‘best of’ lists in A-list publications. It has become part of the tapestry of our town and has given our community a great sense of pride.
“It was also a fantastically fun weekend that many of our residents enjoyed immensely as they were caught up in the spirit of music, art and the spectacular,” the mayor added. “We have played host to the world, and it has been a great honour.”
Heintzman recognized Paul Runnals, executive producer of the festival, “for his passion, vision and appreciation for Squamish. He has been a truly excellent partner, and we hope to be able to work with Paul and his team again in the future,” she said.
“We know that this decision was not made lightly.”
The 2015 festival with more than 80 acts performing on stages at the Logger Sports Grounds and Brennan Park field complex saw 120,000 festivalgoers pass through its gates over the four-day festival.
Over the years, big-name acts made their way to the festival including Eminem, Bruno Mars and Arcade Fire in 2014 and Drake and Mumford and Sons in 2015.
The festival reportedly generated an estimated economic impact in the corridor of $32 million over its four days, according to the district.
