People go for the lights, electronic beats and dancing. On Saturday hundreds of southern Albertan’s will attend the third annual Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival. The event attracts DJ’s from across the province. It’s considered to be a family event and organizers have a zero tolerance policy for drugs
“A couple of years ago in 2012 we got together with a bunch of other DJs. W figured let’s throw an event and a festival. There is nothing like this in southern Alberta, but there is a lot in Calgary,” said Jose Streeter.
Last Friday in Calgary paramedics were called six times to treat people who had consumed a mixture of illicit drugs and alcohol at the Chasing Summer Electronic Music Festival. All six patients who were in their late teens and twenties were taken to hospital but luckily they were all discharged after being treated for issues surrounding drug use.
“The first year we launched the event some people were skeptical at what we were doing having an event like this. But they came down and there were lots of kids and seniors even. There was a diverse group of people that came down and enjoyed the music. There was nothing strange going on, just people having fun,” added Streeter.
The dangers of taking party drugs has been at the forefront this summer. In August a 24-year-old woman died of a suspected overdose at a music festival in Penticton. Organizers say they hope these incident’s won’t shine a negative light on their event.
“We have seen in other communities that these so-called party drugs can be deadly like ecstasy and MDMA. At the end of the day it’s just not worth it. You can enjoy yourself without taking drugs,” said Kristin Harding, executive officer with the Lethbridge Regional Police.
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