Underground music from across the globe, interactive art installations and a plethora of unique workshops will soon encompass a mountainside beach for the third annual Bass Coast Project festival.
Starting Friday (July 29), festival-goers will immerse themselves in mud wrestling sessions, fashion shows and yoga classes while plenty of stellar tunes blare into the summer air.
The four-day, three-night festival will once again be held on a large, privately-owned campground at Mile 16.5 of Squamish Valley Road where sandy beaches, the cold yet refreshing Squamish River, and the Tantalus Range create a backdrop any music reveler would desire.
Co-organizer and DJ Librarian Andrea Graham said the location is perfect for a festival focused on creative expression, underground arts, culture and community.
"It's a really stunning location and our festival is about integrating your experience with art at every corner."
Although only in its third year, Bass Coast in 2010 well exceeded expectations in terms of numbers and attendees' satisfaction. Some festival-goers and vendors even compared it to Shambala, the well-known electronic music festival just east of Salmo in the Kootenay Mountain range based on Nevada's legendary Burning Man and its audience participation concept.
"Everybody is so friendly and welcoming, with everyone saying 'Hi' to one another and a good vibe in general. I feel like this could be like Shambala one day," said clothing vendor Marie Pierre, whose store is based in Nelson but she travels from festival to festival during the summer months.
"For a festival that just started, the turnout is amazing," she said. "There's festivals that have been going on for years that don't get this amount of people and the decorations are world-class, and they have some really wicked artists doing them."
Graham said organizers were inspired by the comparisons to successful festivals like Shambala and Burning Man, but also hoped Bass Coast would maintain its West Coast roots.
"I feel like we're striving to represent West Coast underground culture, so we do focus a lot on that which kind of creates our own niche," she said.
"I think we've created our own unique festival by blending mountain culture with the urban Vancouver vibe and it's kind of created its own feel."
Three-dimensional art will decorate the large campground while more than 50 musicians from different corners of the world will entertain the masses from noon until the early dawn on two beachside stages.
This year's music gurus include Ali B and Psychemagik from London, UK, Berlin sensation Robot Koch, and San Francisco-based artists EPROM and DJG.
But the music lineup isn't just limited to foreign talent - at least 10 corridor musicians will also share their talent including Riddim Fernandez, The Librarian, Vinyl Ritchie, Foxy Moron, Dagan Beach, Jana Lahti and Mat the Alien.
Organizers and artists are already building the two main stages and there will be a third radio stage devoted to workshops.
"We try and make sure our stages are also works of art and have them evolve from year to year," said Graham. "It's a completely different concept and, this year, the main stage's d茅cor and design incorporates visual mapping, which makes the set design come alive and move."
Furthermore, Graham said that this year organizers decided to put more focus on providing as many diverse workshops as possible, ranging from laughing yoga to music production to a presentation by Jamie Janover about the unified field theory - the unification of all forces and matter in the universe.
The riverside festival is also scheduled to offer a fashion show, belly fit classes and capoeira, the Brazilian martial art integrated with dance.
Organizers encourage attendees to bring their creativity, fun costumes and bikes to the festival, which takes place on a 72-hectare site.
Healthy food, clothes and jewelry will be available in the vending village, which will feature numerous local artists and businesses. As the event is alcohol- and glass bottle-free, alcohol will not be sold, but bring a water bottle because potable water will be available.
The gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 29 and the festival wraps up at noon on Monday, August 1. Advance tickets are $160 plus HST, and admission at the gate is $170 plus HST - there are no day or single night passes. Attendees must be 19 years of age or older. To purchase tickets visit www.basscoastproject.com.
