It looks as though Kelowna’s Center of Gravity festival has played its final beats.
The electronic music festival had plans to rebrand and return in 2020 after taking a hiatus in 2019. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening.
The event website is no longer accessible and the last social media post made on the events twitter page is last February’s announcement of the one-year break.
— Center of Gravity (@centerofgravity)
City event development supervisor Chris Babcock says he has not heard from event organizers in almost a year. And, officials at Live Nation, which partnered with Center of Gravity promoters, say as far as they know, nothing is planned.
The festival was the topic of much controversy with businesses and residents since its inception in 2008.
For the first six years, Center of Gravity was held on the August long weekend but several concerns from downtown residents, business owners and RCMP over public safety forced the event off the long weekend.
In 2014, the event moved to the last weekend in July and the date change led to smaller crowds and a loss in ticket sales, while the cost of public safety and security went up.
The final straw for the festival may have been in 2018 when 16-year-old Kamloops resident Adison Paige Davies overdosed and died after taking a toxic pill of what she believed to be MDMA.
While Kelowna residents may not be able to rave by the lake this summer, Kelowna is hosting the Rock the Lake Festival in August featuring April Wine, Kim Mitchell, Chilliwack and many more.
