The Volim Valley Music Festival is taking place at Heartland Ranch, east of Kelowna.
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June 07, 2017 - 9:30 AM
KELOWNA - For those craving a European style music festival without having to make a trip across the pond, this new Okanagan music festival is for you.
The Volim Valley Music Festival at Heartland Ranch, previously known as 8 Mile Ranch, is brand new to the festival scene this year. The ranch, east of Kelowna on Highway 33, has 175 acres land and provides lots of room for campers and festival goers.
“There’s no camping festival currently in Kelowna,” festival co-founder Angelo Guarini says. “We really wanted a more loving, laid back vibe, where people can camp and just hang out and have a good time.”
The idea for the festival came from co-founder Drew Schulz’ travels through Europe over the past four years. He says he's been to about 20 festivals in Europe.
“Everyone is there to have a good time, it didn’t matter who you were or where you were from," Schulz says. "We’re trying to recreate that atmosphere.”
Volim, which means love in Croatian, is what the festival is all about - bringing people together.
The festival is not just focusing on music, but rather has an array of activities people can participate in, from a giant slip’n’slide to morning yoga, to a hammockland - where 50 full sized hammocks will be placed for people to just chill out.
“We’re trying to be different by bringing in different amenities,” Schulz says. “We’re focussing on the customer experience rather then just music and partying, we want to give other options.”
The festival has even made arrangements with neighboring WildPlay Elements Park, where festival goers will get discounts for various Wild Play activities, such as zip-lining, obstacle courses and a 100 foot swing.
“We don’t want to make a music festival just centered around music, we want it to be something that’s fun all the time,” Guarini says. “If you don’t feel like listening to music, you have so many other things to do.”
The festival will have two stages, one electronic stage and one live stage - meaning live instruments. The live stage will feature artists from a variety of genres. There will also be an art gallery at the festival showcasing local artists called ARTfromtheHEART.
With pre-sale tickets already sold out, the festival is sure to be a success.
“We know we’re not going to be huge in the first year but we just want everyone to have an awesome time,” Guarini says.
For more information about the music festival or to buy tickets, check out the Volim Valley Music Festival website.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017