FozzyFest is set to return to Lake Koocanusa for their fourteenth annual festival on September 13 to 16, after being forced to move last minute in 2017 due to the raging wildfires surrounding the area.
The festival initially moved to Koocanusa from their original home in Kananaskis in 2013 due to the heavy floods. For 2016’s festival they faced further challenges when their Special Event Licence was denied after the RCMP refused to sign off on it. This resulted in a reduced festival that year; they had around 500 guests instead of the 1,500 they usually host.
The following year in 2017, they petitioned to change the bylaw so that the RDEK did not require the RCMP to sign off on the petition, which they did successfully. While they were set to return to their regular size, they then decided to find a new location due to the evacuation alert in that area caused by the encroaching forest fires.
“We’re really excited over here,” said festival director Shawn Lafleur. “Obviously it’s been two years back to back where we’ve been unlucky I guess, last year was the fires and the year before the permit issue we had. So we were at the beach but we had the 500-person festival. So we are excited to be back at the beach and back at our full event as well.”
The festival is coming back bigger and better than ever according to directors Lafleur and Darryl Stanat. In addition to a massive array of talent from around Alberta and B.C. they also have international artists such as Benny L and Danny Byrd from the UK, Moresounds from France and Worthy from San Francisco.
They have new and improved lasers added to their main stage and improved video mapping on their beach stage Shipwrecked — which due to the move last year and restrictions the year before was unable to be constructed to its full extent.
They have expanded workshops throughout the day including three to four hours of yoga and live music each day, and games on the beach including volleyball and a disc golf tournament. They also have a new art director this year, and there will be a much heavier emphasis on art and artistic installations around the grounds.
“We’re improving our diversification of things that are available to do at the festival.”
They also continue to maintain their impeccable safety record. Two years ago they implemented a full medical team, before they had a volunteer basis now they hire Elite Medical to provide full medical services, with advanced care, paramedics and access to doctors at all times and can provide full, hospital-level care on site.
“We haven’t seen a lot of those cases where they would have to call an ambulance, so in general our safety record is excellent,” said Stanat. “We just hire them as an extra precaution to make everybody more comfortable.”
They have as much harm reduction on site as they possibly can, both with harm reduction provided by ANKORS and information about the dangers of various drugs to sun exposure. Last year they hired a security team that will be returning this year, to check patrons cars for contraband and securing the perimeter of the festival to prevent people from sneaking in.
They also this year were contacted by the Government of B.C. who prepared for them numerous information sheets and lawn signs pertaining to safe party practises.
Stanat said that they just received a call from Tobacco Plains saying that the air is clearing up and it’s not looking like they will close the crown roads this year, which is what happened leading up to 2017’s festival.
“Last year, as a festival, we decided not to go to Koocanusa on our own before we were told that we couldn’t go,” Lafleur said. “We had already made the decision, because we didn’t want to create undue stress for the emergency personnel in the area and have 1,500 festival goers in the area. That and the poor air quality because of the smoke. So we made that decision as a committee first before we were told we couldn’t go.”
In addition to bringing economic benefit to the region — the directors previously presented an economic impact analysis that estimated that they bring around $500,000 to the area each year — the organizers strive to create a safe and fun event while ensuring that they are cognizant of what’s happening in the area around them. And, in a tough situation, they have proved more than once that they are capable of making drastic last minute changes to ensure the show goes on.
