3-day music festival planned for Vancouver's Stanley Park

The producers of theSquamishValley Music Festivaland the Celebration of Light fireworks show are planning on launching a new music eventin Vancouver for thesummerof 2018.

The festival, called Skookum,is being planned for Sept.7forthree days at Stanley Park's BrocktonField complex, with room for up to 20,000 people per day, say event organizers.

Paul Runnals, the festival'sdirector, says it took several months to obtaina permit from the parkboard.

"I started talking with the parkboard in April of 2016. So, it was about 16 or 17 months of working through various approvals and engagement with a wide range of folks including, of course, people like the aquarium and the marina."

Runnalswho is a partner at Brandlive, the production agency for the event, says the relationship the agency has created is also what made this size event possible.

"We'veworked very closely with both the city and the park board for a number of years on some of the other major projects we do.

"So, for instance, we produced the Celebration of Light Fireworks.We've been doing it now for seven years. We do the Canada Day celebrations down to Canada Place.We produced the SarahMclachlanVoices in the ParkinStanley Park at Brockton, the same site we are using."

Runnals adds that there has been a shift in the festival landscape which can explain the disappearance of events like Squamishand a new emerging trend of city-based festivals where people can come and go and still sleep in theirbeds.

"I think the timing was right and I think that there is an appetite from the park board and from the city to see a marquee signature event like this land in Vancouver."

The VancouverParkBoard confirms the permit was grantedJuly 15.