The Live at Squamish vision is deceptively simple: "Happy times in a big field with great music."
But it's taken organizers nearly five months to create that laid back vibe, and this weekend it all comes to a head as 40 bands take to three stages, spreading infectious beats to thousands of absorbed fans for a shared experience the size of which Squamish has never seen.
"I think we're heading towards something pretty special here," says event producer Paul Runnals.
The brand.LIVE festival organizers anticipate 8,000 ticket holders will travel to the vast festival grounds, which encompass Squamish's 5,000-seat Loggers Sports stands and its two neighbouring properties normally used as ball fields and a campground.
"As far as festival sites go - and I've done festivals all over the world - this ranks up with the best of them," said Runnals.
"When you're on the site, you really don't know that civilization exists outside of it. The backdrop to the main stage is the Chief. You're surrounded by trees and you're on a beautiful grass field. You really can't ask for anything better."
In fact, said brand.LIVE senior vice president Greg Albrecht, festival backers are so convinced the venue will work, they've committed to running Live at Squamish for at least five years.
"We want to grow this festival year after year. Believe me when I say by Sept. 9 we'll have started calling bands for next year's festival," said Albrecht.
Runnals asked Squamish to host the event last April, having gained wisdom from the notable challenges organizers faced during the massive 2008 Pemberton Festival.
"I was very involved in Pemberton, so there was a lot of lessons that came out of that," he said. "The most pronounced was going too big too fast."
One major problem was accessibility. As Highway 99 was in the middle of extensive reconstruction, it became choked with thousands of vehicles streaming north.
This time around, as people pour in from as near as a few blocks away to as far as Portland and everywhere in between, a top priority was to make the journey as carefree and easy as possible.
The highway's completion helps immensely, with the drive from the Second Narrows Bridge now a mere 40 minutes.
But for those wanting other options, Live at Squamish is also offering numerous shuttle bus services with pick up and drop off points in Horseshoe Bay, Whistler and various locations in Vancouver.
Locals can also bike to the venue without worry thanks to a free valet service ensuring an eye is always kept on a secured bike lock up.
Creating easy accessibility is key to getting crowds out during the festival's inaugural year, said Runnals.
"I believe that this experience once they're on the site is going to be second to none. We're extremely confident in that. But you do have to coax people out in that first year," said Runnals.
The comparatively modest event also allows for a more intimate experience for people as they roam the grounds and come across a number of unexpected elements, from random art performances to art installations, ambient site performance and site animation.
"Success in the festival is the sum of the parts, it's not any one thing, it's a series of things that people come away saying 'You know I went to see this band but along the way I saw a lot of other crazy, fun stuff. It was really, really great,'" said Runnals.
A few bands are also going beyond stage performance to bring an inclusive form of entertainment to the masses.
Tokyo Police Club brings its Champ Championship to Live at Squamish, encouraging fans to challenge the band to a competition of their choosing. During a recent tour, band members accepted such challenges as tossing water balloons and eating soft-shell crab.
Now they're inviting Sea to Sky residents to come up with something unique - and epic.
Burgeoning Victoria artist Kuba Oms, who headlines the final performance of the weekend, also adds to his stage presence with an invitation to help impoverished children of the Third World.
He'll be appealing to crowds to support his favourite charity, World Vision, by offering a signed CD to anyone who agrees to spend $35 to become a sponsor.
Oms will be celebrating the release of his brand new video the day of his show, for which he reunites with his band Velvet.
Despite being the final act of the line-up, Oms said he and his band intend to spend the entire weekend taking in the festival and reconnecting with fellow artists.
"My bass player used to live and jam with the guys in DEVO," said Oms. "I'm pretty excited about the whole festival, it's looking like a really great bill.
He said he's much more likely to appreciate an event of this size since it's got a more grassroots approach.
"I think it's more about the people and the diverse line-up and the quality of the environment in which it's in," he said.
A common theme among festival performers is an enthusiasm for the area, for the crowds and for each other.
"Anytime Canada calls Bob Wootton and the Tennessee Three will be there!" said Vicky Wooton. "For Bob and I, it is very personal to us to play in Canada anytime. Canada is like a second home for us and the people make it that way."
For Dan Vacon and Scott Ross from The Dudes, Live at Squamish means an opportunity to rock out with some "all time favourites bands."
"I am totally juiced to see Bad Religion!" said Vacon. "They taught the teenaged me to both question and stick it to the man."
"I personally cannot believe we are playing on the same stage as DEVO, that right there feels pretty good," said Ross. "So seeing them play after I just sweat all over the stage is gonna be pretty epic."
And for popular Vancouver indie group We Say Party, the concert is an opportunity to heal from the tragic loss of their drummer Devon Clifford, who died after collapsing onstage last April.
"We are so excited to be playing again," said band member Becky Ninkovic.
"It is one of our first shows back since the tragedy and changes happened. We feel great about where we are at now, and look forward to sharing our hearts in music with all the people at Live at Squamish."
The local music scene is also well represented thanks to a partnership between Live at Squamish and Squamish Equinox Rocks Festival (SERF), which would normally hold its annual event on the town's Oceanfront lands over Labour Day weekend.
The third stage is dedicated to SERF's acts, which include the popular Sea to Sky performer Kostaman, newly formed Squamish indie-folk band Fogon and Tommy Honest & The Liars, a gritty, rock and roll, five-piece band describing itself as "A Fist on Wheels," featuring musicians from Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
"Locating the SERF stage at Live at Squamish in 2010 provides an excellent opportunity for Sea to Sky musicians to gain exposure to a larger audience than normal," said SERF vice president Paul Hudson.
"Having musical acts from across the Canada play the SERF stage will help bring about awareness to touring musicians that the Sea to Sky Corridor has an active music scene."
Festival fever also caught Squamish's Mayor Greg Gardner Friday Aug. 20 as he took a tour of Live at Squamish's main local sponsors, including Chances Casino, which will host after parties throughout the weekend with festival DJs spinning their beats while shuttles transport festival goers between the venues.
Gardner said the direct economic impact Live at Squamish brings is substantial.
"Obviously businesses in town will be busy, the hotels and campgrounds will be full and in a larger sense, it will help people start to see Squamish as a destination."
The final lead-up to the event includes special vendor opportunities, an iPhone application with info about the artists, a map of the grounds, a schedule for each day and a contest rewarding sightings of Square - whose name amalgamates "Squamish" and "bear."
Square has been gallivanting around corridor community events and throughout the Lower Mainland, promoting the upcoming festival.
"We think you just might be able to catch our bear," states the Live at Squamish website.
"He's quite a sociable creature, so you can find him at all of the hot spots around town and in your communities."
Anyone who spots Square and takes a photo can send it in and receive prizes or tickets to the two-day celebration.
Tickets are available Chances Casino, Whistler Brewery and the Adventure Centre.
For all information about Live at Squamish, go to www.liveatsquamish.com.
