Shambhala MUSIC FESTIVAl
British Columbia, Canada
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Adaptive capacity: An existing festival responding to wildfire
Shambhala Music Festival is a long-standing event held on a 500-acre farm in rural British Columbia, surrounded by mountains, forests, and the Salmo River. Celebrated as Canada’s premiere electronic music festival, it attracts over 20,000 attendees annually and features more than 200 artists, both domestic and international, performing across six stages. In addition to vibrant music, the festival offers a diverse range of activities, including a wedding chapel, yoga sessions, an art gallery, a wish tree, a pride parade, swimming and floating on the Salmo River, various workshops, and food and artisan markets.
Core values and community support
The festival prides itself on upholding eight core values: safety and harm reduction, Shambhala love and community, consent, music, art, and creativity, acceptance and freedom of expression, respect for the environment, tradition and transformation, and the spirit of having fun, letting go, and dancing.
To ensure a positive and safe environment, Shambhala provides attendees with essential amenities such as food, water, shelter, and showers, and is supported by 3,000 dedicated volunteers who help ensure the event's success.
Challenges and safety measures
Given its location in a region prone to wildfires, the festival has faced significant challenges in terms of safety and emergency management. In 2017, strong winds brought the risk of a regional forest fire within 10 kilometers of the festival site, resulting in an evacuation alert. After thorough monitoring with festival experts and weather updates, the decision was made to shelter in place. This experience led the festival organizers to enhance their Public Safety Management and Emergency Management plans, which proved beneficial during potentially dangerous thunderstorms in 2019, allowing the festival to continue safely without interruptions.
To bolster safety and resilience, several improvements have been made over the years. These include the installation of an irrigation system surrounding the farm's perimeter, access to potable water on-site, shifting the festival dates from August to July to reduce wildfire risks, and creating a fire ring along with a secondary road and entrance for evacuation purposes.
Communication has also been enhanced through real-time updates via an app, emergency number stickers, daily briefings between departments and stakeholders, and text messaging with visitors.
Adaptive capacity in response to disaster
The festival's adaptive capacity reflects its ability to respond to disasters by making modifications to remain flexible and resilient. Shambhala's organizers maintained a conscious awareness of potential threats and learned from past experiences. Through strategic planning and efficiency, they built the capacity to respond effectively to on-site emergencies. This adaptive capacity is not limited to internal organizations but involves the entire service ecosystem, with various stakeholders working together to ensure the site can adapt to the challenges faced.
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