Another mainstay music festival has announced it's taking a year off as it grapples with many of the same issues that have shut down similar events in B.C.
The Tall Tree Music Festival, a music event that has taken place in Port Renfrew for the last eight years, says it is taking a year off to regroup.
"Producing a festival is a very hard thing to do at the best of times," organizers said in a news release. "Festivals across B.C. have struggled in recent years with a low Canadian dollar and market over-saturation, which has made an already tough financial climate even tougher."
The festival is almost entirely run by volunteers, and despite that organizers say the event hasn't turned a profit in its eight years.
"That fact combined with some other challenges in 2017 mean we have decided to take a year off to regroup," it said.
The hiatus comes after other high-profile music events in the province were cancelled, including the Pemberton Music Festival, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Organizers for the event said ticket sales did not meet expectations and the weak Canadian dollar caused issues because many acts had to be paid in USD.
Another popular Vancouver Island music festival, Rock The Shores, announced it was cancelling its 2017 event due to challenges with booking acts and competing with Canada 150 celebrations. Organizers of that festival have indicated they'll still beholding a 2018 event.
Meanwhile, Tall Tree organizers say they hope to bring back the music festival in 2019, but haven't confirmed it will be back for sure.
Fans and past attendees were largely supportive of the festival's decision in Facebook comments, with many saying they were sad but understood the decision.
"So glad you are taking the time for yourselves to rechard, rest and reflect. Sad to hear, but I understand," wrote one woman.
Past editions of the festival have featured acts like Tokyo Police Club, Mother Mother and Dan Mangan.
