There will be no Vancouver Island MusicFest next summer.
On the festival’s Facebook page, festival staff and the Comox Valley Folk Society Board have announced that the event isn’t running next year because they want to rebuild resources and find a new vision for the festival based on the current economic reality.
They say that reality is affecting festivals all over the world as costs continue going up for all parts of the festival.
“From travel costs to certain production costs more than doubling what they were before the pandemic,” said the organizers. “When paired with decreasing sponsorships, zero local funding and reduced ticket sales you have pressures on all sides.”
The organizers say they don’t want to raise ticket prices to deal with the costs, adding not running it was a tough decision to make.
They say they will consider the future of the event and come up with strategies that can benefit them in the future.