The like so many other organizations, is in a holding pattern because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but organizers are looking at all available options to proceed in the future.
Co-founder and CEO Tamara Stanners said in an April 17 interview that organizers are telling agents that the festival, which is slated to run from July 24 to 26, is on hold as it waits for more information to come available.
鈥淲e are watching, like everybody else, and waiting to see what the official words are going to be regarding how we鈥檙e all going to be able to gather in the future, whether that鈥檚 this summer or if it鈥檚 in the fall or if it鈥檚 in 2021,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s we鈥檙e talking to different provincial health officials and our local municipalities, nobody even knows.
鈥淲e want to make sure that everybody鈥檚 going to be safe and we have to wait until we get word from authorities to know exactly when that鈥檚 going to be.鈥�
Stanners said that while a postponement hasn鈥檛 yet been announced, it that seems to be the direction things are heading, with major July events such as the Osheaga Music & Arts Festival and the Winnipeg Folk Festival announcing suspensions or cancellations this week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very close to being there.... It鈥檚 this crazy circle that all just starts to unravel the closer we get to the date without knowing if we can actually gather.
鈥淚f it means postponing for a full year, that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e going to do, but we still are holding out a little bit of hope that we may be able to do something this year,鈥� she added.
And even if the date is pushed back, Stanners assured fans the event will return when safe to do so.
鈥淭here is no chance that it鈥檚 not coming back,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are 100% committed.鈥�
To help weather the storm, the Constellation Festival has been working with other festivals in the province, meeting weekly via Zoom since the start of April and recently forming the BC Music Festival Collective with more than 50 other independent producers. Stanners said the experience has been 鈥渋ncredible.鈥�
鈥淚t has been enlightening. We are talking about strategies and the best way that we can do it so that we can all come out the other side maybe even stronger than we were before,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very fickle industry and can be very challenging so we want to make sure that we鈥檙e in a position to treat our ticket buyers the best way possible, and also to remain sustainable out the other side.鈥�
Among the topics that are being discussed are understanding ticket and credit-card companies, as all have different policies, as well as best practices for working with banks, producers and agents.
Working on their own, Stanners said she and the other festival organizers didn鈥檛 realize what others are experiencing but now have learned that everyone has faced similar challenges.
鈥淲hat we really realized is that we are more alike than we ever knew and there are more commonalities between all the festivals than we knew before,鈥� she said. 鈥淢ost of the festivals organized in B.C. are so community-driven and they鈥檙e really about making sure that the people that come to the festivals are the stars of the show.鈥�
Stanners added that the festival is also part of weekly Canadian Live Music Association meetings, noting that music events put billions into the national economy and the industry will have difficulty recovering. Another concern is that with so many other industries and individuals hurting, especially in a region heavily dependent on tourism, that there won鈥檛 be much spare cash for entertainment floating around when it鈥檚 safe to bring everyone together.
鈥淚s anybody even going to have money to go to a festival? That鈥檚 a huge question that we have,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a whole new economy that鈥檚 impacting everyone.鈥�
Julie Fowler, the convener of the initial meeting and executive and artistic director for the ArtsWells Festival Of All Things Art in Wells, said the impacts will be felt across the province.
鈥淭he number of festivals in BC has grown substantially in the last 20 years and this crisis has highlighted the value of coming together to share ideas and resources so that we can all continue to strengthen our communities and create a vibrant arts and culture sector in BC,鈥� Fowler said in a release.
