Over 3,600 people attended Â鶹AV’s third Denim On The Diamond single-day, outdoor music festival at King Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 2), which featured a lineup of eight artists and groups from across Canada.
With last year’s festival cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitch Carefoot, the festival’s director and organizer, said that it was a surreal feeling to be able to host the event.
“I think over the past year, through all the experiences, as an event producer, I used to get anxious about all these little things,” said Carefoot. “And now, I just can’t be bothered by some of it. It’s immaterial to what’s happening here today.”
Current Interior Health (IH) COVID-19 restrictions permit outdoor organized events to operate at a capacity of 5,000 people, with proof of full vaccination (two doses) required. Vaccine passports were checked for each attendant prior to entrance, while it was optional to wear a face mask.
READ MORE: Â鶹AV curling legend Jim Ursel dies from cancer
“I’m happy we’re able to do it. I think that social connection was a big piece that’s been missing in the last little bit,” said Carefoot. “Just seeing friends…It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do this.”
The lineup consisted of Canadian artists from genres that included country, pop, electronic dance music and indie alternative rock.
Featured were the Hunter Brothers, Yukon Blonde, Shawnee Kish, Dj Invizible, JJ Wilde and more.
“We believe that if people have these shared experiences and see representation of different types of people on stage, it’s going to create a little more empathy when you move back out into the community,” said Carefoot.
The success of the festival, he said, is an example of how events can be done safely, despite the current state of the pandemic.
“We’re moving forward to learn to live under these circumstances that we’re currently in for the last 18 months,” he said.
“We can do it safely and we can move forward. Some sense of community of people gathering together, and the recognition that good things can happen in Â鶹AV when a whole bunch of people and a bunch of businesses get together and all pull in the same direction.”
READ MORE: 19 positive cases of COVID-19 onboard flights to and from Â鶹AV in September
aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .
