Vancouver Island MusicFest won't be happening in 2025, as organizers announced they would be taking the year off to "determine a sustainable vision" for the event.
"The board of the Comox Valley Folk Society and MusicFest staff have announced they are taking a year off from the annual summer festival to rebuild resources and determine a sustainable vision based on the current economic reality and cultural changes," a press release noted. "Sadly, this difficult reality is being faced by numerous Festivals around the world as all grapple with escalating costs."
Organizers say that economic challenges and increased production costs are part of what influenced the decision.
“Economic challenges have increased dramatically across all aspects of the festival - from travel costs to certain production costs more than doubling what they were before the pandemic. When paired with decreasing sponsorships, zero local funding and reduced ticket sales, you have pressures on all sides." the statement from organizers says.
"We have no desire to raise ticket prices to the level we would need to in order to make things work, which would make our festival unavailable for so many members of our community and loyal patrons. It's all caused us to realize, for the moment at least, our festival model is no longer sustainable in the Comox Valley.”
The board and staff have not come to this decision lightly, a press release from the organization says, adding that they realize how important the festival is to many volunteers, friends and families who have attended the community gathering over the last 30 years.
“It's a hard day for us all,” says festival artistic director/executive producer, Doug Cox. “But it's time for us to pause and consider the future of our event and make strategies for a sustainable future.”
