politics
Boonstock vows to continue despite security setback
PENTICTON - Boonstock organizers say the show will go on even without definite security plans, since the private company they hired quit one month before the weekend long concert. Boonstock officials have been difficult to reach at the best of times, but since International Crowd Management has backed out of the event hit the news...
‘Everything’s up to chance’ with Boonstock: RCMP
PENTICTON - Police continue to have serious concerns about a lack of security at Boonstock but are powerless to intervene. Add Penticton RCMP to the list of organizations kept in the dark about festival plans, now only three weeks away. Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski, the officer in charge of RCMP involvement in the festival, says...
Have a question about Boonstock? Here’s your chance to ask it
PENTICTON - If you have questions about Boonstock, you’ll have a chance to speak with organizers directly at a public forum Tuesday night. Boonstock organizers will hold a panel discussion at the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce, Tuesday July 7 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public can ask organizers questions about...
Boonstock a go: Organizers have security covered, prepare for economic opportunity
PENTICTON - Boonstock Music Festival organizers have a new security company and are adamant the show will go on August long weekend with or without a liquor license. Boonstock organizers including Barb Haynes and Colin Kobza told a small crowd in Penticton at a public forum Tuesday night they reached an agreement with 24-7 Security...
Council keeps neutral stance about Boonstock
PENTICTON - City Council remains neutral about endorsing Boonstock after a letter was sent by the Chamber of Commerce asking council to reconsider its decision. The Chamber has been an enthusiastic supporter of the music festival and said it’s good business to get behind a new business operation of this size. Campbell Watt, Chamber president...
Lack of communication, planning turned Boonstock into Drystock
PENTICTON - It's official: Boonstock will be dry. The Liquor Control and Licensing Board said today the Boonstock Music and Arts Festival organizers cannot appeal their decision not to issue a liquor licence, leaving the 8,000 or so fans per day to get creative if they want their booze. The board said organizers failed to...
Penticton Indian Band reinstates support for Boonstock
PENTICTON - The Penticton Indian Band has retracted a statement that was accidentally released earlier today withdrawing their support for Boonstock Music and Arts Festival this weekend. Chief Jonathan Kruger said organizers have now met all the band's requirements and they will continue to support the festival. Organizers had not yet provided the $200,000 bill...
Councillor says Boonstock for “head-banging druggies”
PENTICTON - City Coun. Katie Robinson made an unexpected comment about Boonstock at last night’s council meeting, causing gallery members to gasp and other councillors to hold their heads in their hands. “I’m not a head-banging druggie, so I wasn’t interested in it whatsoever,” Robinson said of the festival. Robinson has been outspoken about her...
“Head-banging druggie” discussion positive for community, says city councillor
PENTICTON - A controversial comment made by a Penticton city councillor has sparked imaginations in Penticton with the creation of t-shirts, hashtags and Facebook groups with the slogan “head-banging druggie,” but the councillor being targeted sees the backlash as a benefit for the community. Coun. Katie Robinson said, “I’m not a head-banging druggie,” at last week’s...
Boonstock survey: A new location, a new experience
PENTICTON - They came, they saw, they got dirty and partied. Now Boonstock wants to hear from you how it went. Boonstock Music and Arts Festival organizers today released an online survey for festival attendees to provide feedback. The survey was posted on Boonstock’s official Facebook page and people are already posting comments about how to...
Boonstock says RCMP accounting is ‘speculation’
PENTICTON - Boonstock organizers say they received a bill from the provincial government three-and-a-half times more than the additional $50,000 RCMP say is owed for extra costs incurred over the festival weekend last month. The Ministry of Justice sent an invoice to Boonstock organizers with a “total owing” of nearly $177,000, and gave them 30...
Penticton wants province to look after Boonstock
PENTICTON - City council has taken its Boonstock woes straight to the provincial government and it appears the province is interested in taking it on, along with other large music festivals. In a release today, the City of Penticton says its full contingent of mayor and councillors (minus only Coun. John Vassilaki) at the Union...
A Penticton proposal getting support from unexpected places
PENTICTON - Penticton council has an unexpected supporter for its push to put oversight for large-scale events under the provincial umbrella—the Boonstock Music and Arts festival. All but one member of Penticton's councillors and mayor used the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention this week to lobby provincial government ministers hard to take on the regulatory...
Still no RCMP invoice for Boonstock
PENTICTON - It’s been almost three months since Boonstock weekend and festival organizers still have not received a copy of the RCMP expense report, which outlines additional costs incurred over the four-day festival. Forty officers were scheduled to work the festival weekend and racked up a $200,000 bill paid for by Boonstock. But in September,...
PHA wants to move forward, work with city
PENTICTON - The Penticton Hospitality Association plans to move forward with a positive attitude now that the lawsuit is over between the association and the city, but directors are not impressed with how the city dealt with the matter. In a press release, association directors said the city has been out to get them since...