WATCH: Organizers of the Squamish Valley Music Festival are taking no chances with illegal street drugs by clamping down on security. Julia Foy reports
Up to 120,000 people are expected to attend the Squamish Valley Music Festival, a three-day event that kicked off Friday night.
Huge crowds, drugs and alcohol can be a dangerous combination, and organizers say they are doing their best to minimize the risk to festival-goers.
“We have 185 medical personnel–including physicians, emergency room nurses, and paramedics–on site throughout the duration of the weekend,” said festival spokesperson Laura Ballance.
B.C. music festivals have dealt with some deadly problems in the past. Last summer two people died from suspected drug overdoses. Twenty-four-year-old Lynn Tolocka died at the Boonstock Festival in Penticton and 21-year-old Nick Phongsavath passed away at the Pemberton Music Festival. The coroner says there is still no clear answer about what killed them.
Squamish Valley Music Festival security staff are checking bags at the gate and police are patrolling the grounds and campgrounds in an attempt to limit the use of illicit drugs.
The biggest concern involves drugs laced with fentanyl, an opioid up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Festival organizers say they’ve never had to deal with a fatal drug overdose, and they hope they never will.
“We’re hoping that people act responsibly and keep an eye on their friends, stay hydrated and have a great weekend here in Squamish,” said Ballance.
-With files from Julia Foy
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