With a solid lineup of performers, ideal weather and strong attendance, the Summer Sensation Beach Music Festival was a resounding success in its inaugural year, say promoters, who have already begun looking into the logistics of bringing the event back next year.
“Everything has just been beyond our expectations,” said Quan Diep, president and managing director of True Channel Entertainment. “It was fantastic.”
Thousands of people descended upon Sylvan Lake from throughout Alberta and beyond on Friday and Saturday to take in performances by Our Lady Peace, Hedley, Dragonette, Dear Rouge, Stars, Matthew Good, and others.
Diep said discussions with the RCMP and the Town of Sylvan Lake will need to take place before the event can be brought back in 2016, but he’s intent on seeing those discussions through.
“There are just a few things we need to figure out, and if we can figure them out, then we’ll definitely be back next year,” he said. “Just seeing the feedback on how people liked the artists and bands this year, I have some great ideas for next year, and we’ll follow through with that and try to impress.”
Diep said work by his “incredible team of people” leading up to and during this year’s event played a major role in its success, with very little having gone wrong over the two days.
And he’s thankful to everyone who contributed.
“We’re so grateful to everybody — the crew, the staff, the media, and just all the fans and people that came out to the festival,” he said.
A security guard was injured as the result of a crowdsurfing mishap during the last song of Our Lady Peace’s Friday night set, but was cleared to return to work the next day.
The incident was one of relatively few at the festival that required police attendance, said Cpl. Kevin Halwa of the Sylvan Lake RCMP.
“It went relatively well,” he said. “It was about what we expected it would be.”
Police over the weekend issued 92 tickets for offences ranging from open liquor to public urination, and arrested 28 people who were in town as a result of the festival.
Two charges were laid for possession of a controlled substance — one in relation to cocaine, the other ecstasy.
A total of ten people were ejected from the concert site over the festival’s two days — two for the use of marijuana, and the bulk of the others for being drunk and disorderly.
Overall, concertgoers were pleased with the police presence and the swift manner in which misconduct was dealt with, said Halwa.
“Numerous people from the public came up to me and expressed their appreciation for the police presence and commented that they felt much safer as a result of it, including some performers.”