(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
November 29, 2013 - 2:38 PM
KELOWNA - It’s official, the Centre of Gravity beach festival has a new date for 2014.
The three-day event will take place on the weekend of July 25, and not during the August long weekend as it has in previous years.
Concerns were raised with Council three weeks ago that holding such a massive event during an already busy time for tourists was stretching businesses and emergency services too thin and creating headache’s for many residents.
Event founder Scott Emslie says he agrees with the decision and has no reason to believe this year’s event will be any less successful.
“I think for long term sustainability it’s definitely the best move for us to have our own weekend outside of the August long weekend,” Emslie said. “It will take the pressure off a little bit.”
Emslie also feels that having two busy tourist weekends in Kelowna is better than just one.
“Businesses will see a benefit because August long is already big for them,” he says. “Now they potentially have two big weekends back-to-back.”
He says the process with Council and the Outdoor Events Committee went smoothly and that the relationship with both remains “very positive.”
“At the end of the day everybody wants to see this event succeed,” Emslie says. “We all had a common goal in mind, which was to make this event sustainable as well as keep it a marquee event for Kelowna.”
Tickets will be available here starting Friday at 10 a.m.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca, call (250) 718-0428 or tweet @AdamProskiw.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013