The news Vancouver Island MusicFest executive producer Doug Cox was expecting came down Saturday morning.

At her April 18 COVID-19 update, B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 provincial health officer announced the social restrictions in place would not be lifted in time for any large-scale events this summer.

乌鸦传媒淩ealistically, we will not be having those big events where people gather together this summer,乌鸦传媒� Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a news conference. 乌鸦传媒淭his is a challenging time around our world and it乌鸦传媒檚 not going to be easy for us to get out of it, but those types of large, mass-gatherings where we have lots of people together, this is not the time for that.乌鸦传媒�

And with that, Cox turned to Plan B.

乌鸦传媒淔or the last month or so, we乌鸦传媒檝e been preparing two plans - one for the festival to go as scheduled (July 10-12), and one in case of cancellation,乌鸦传媒� he said.

So, what is Plan B?

乌鸦传媒淣ow that we have cancelled the festival, we have to deal with the fallout from all that - dealing with the ticket-buyers, all the suppliers, sponsors, cancelling all the performers,乌鸦传媒� said Cox.

As for ticket-holders, Cox said there will be an announcement forthcoming.

乌鸦传媒淲e will be sending out an announcement in the next few days.乌鸦传媒�

Apart from the logistical challenge MusicFest management faces in the days and weeks ahead, Cox said the toughest thing is simply accepting the reality of the situation.

乌鸦传媒淲e are devastated,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淥ur biggest thrill for so many of the staff that put on the festival are those set-up days, when people are at the site, watching everybody arrive, watching the team come together to build the 乌鸦传媒榯own乌鸦传媒� of MusicFest. So many people look forward to that all year. Aside from the music and the financial impact and all of that stuff, that乌鸦传媒檚 the heartbreaking part, is to know we are not going to have that celebration this year.乌鸦传媒�

Cox added that even before the government intervention, it was becoming clear in the past few weeks that this year乌鸦传媒檚 event would not be possible.

乌鸦传媒淲hen you look at our own responsibility when it comes to the health of our patrons and our volunteers - we have a kids乌鸦传媒� area, we have a kitchen that feeds 2,000 people a day, we have a campground of 4,000 people, we have people travelling from all over the world to get here - it乌鸦传媒檚 just impossible,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚t would simply be the wrong decision for us to proceed with the festival this year.乌鸦传媒�

Although Henry made the announcement at her daily briefing Saturday, there has yet to be an official directive from the government, regarding the process to be followed for such events.

While Cox expects to hear of a relief program set up through the federal government to ease the financial burden of such a cancellation, he appreciates that乌鸦传媒檚 not a top priority for the government, at the moment.

乌鸦传媒淩eally, this is tough, but there are no sour grapes,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 am so proud to be a Canadian, in terms of how our government has tried very hard to support everyone.乌鸦传媒�

terry.farrell@blackpress.ca
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