The 2021 Vancouver Island MusicFest 乌鸦传媒� The Virtual Edition 乌鸦传媒� will be like no other festival executive producer Doug Cox has ever put together.

And while there have been many challenges new to him, there have been plenty of opportunities as well.

One such opportunity is the ability to promote the beauty of Comox Valley as a whole. With the entire community at his disposal, Cox and his team took the show to the great outdoors.

Many of the segments were filmed outside, highlighting 乌鸦传媒渂eautiful, natural British Columbia乌鸦传媒� in a way no other music festival has done.

The Comox Valley acquired its name from local Indigenous Peoples乌鸦传媒� term for 乌鸦传媒楲and of Plenty.乌鸦传媒� On the weekend of July 9-11, the Land of Plenty will be showcased to the world and live-streamed by Black Press.

There are segments shot on Hornby Island, at the Number Six Mine Park in Cumberland, at Comox Lake (with the iconic Comox Glacier in the background), at 40 Knots Winery, Ships Point, and even at Crown Isle Golf Resort.

乌鸦传媒淲hat we tried to do was shoot in some of the areas that are iconic to the Valley,乌鸦传媒� said Cox. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a little bit funky and it乌鸦传媒檚 really cool.乌鸦传媒�

Attracting future artists, tourists

Cox said featuring the beauty of the Valley will prove to be a useful tool not only for attracting artists to future MusicFests but also as a tourism hook on the whole.

乌鸦传媒淔or our funding this year, through the Ministry of Tourism, part of what we pitched was we told them we were going to feature the Comox Valley and its surroundings more than we ever have - not just the arts, but also the areas around here,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪o that was an interesting challenge - how can we support North Island tourism when people aren乌鸦传媒檛 even allowed to come here. That乌鸦传媒檚 another huge part of why we are doing it this way.

乌鸦传媒淎nd it was really nice to be able to support some of the sponsors as well乌鸦传媒� for us to get to bring our artists to places like Crown Isle, who have supported us so greatly all these years, and give them exposure, I think that is a really great thing.乌鸦传媒�

Cox said despite the wet spring, the weather cooperated, for the most part.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e had two planned shoots on Mount Washington that we.. had to postpone乌鸦传媒�. But other than that, we乌鸦传媒檝e had a few rainy days, but we have been pretty lucky so far, with our shooting days.乌鸦传媒�

A Mount Washington shoot was completed on July 20, with Helen Austin as the featured artist.

In addition to the scenery, Vancouver Island talent will shine like never before.

Due to the ongoing travel restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the aforementioned challenges for the 2021 festival was lining up enough performers to create segments featuring the local scenery.

RELATED:

乌鸦传媒淲e pretty well had to shoot only artists who could leave and go back home on the same day,乌鸦传媒� said Cox. 乌鸦传媒淪o that was the focus. Certainly, restrictions are loosening now, but even three weeks ago, that was a major concern.乌鸦传媒�

Fortunately for Cox, the Comox Valley乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒楲and of Plenty乌鸦传媒� moniker is not restricted to its natural beauty. There is a cornucopia of musical talent in the community as well.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 worked out really well,乌鸦传媒� said Cox. 乌鸦传媒淔or one, it would have been really hard to arrange and accommodate a lot of acts from outside B.C, with what we are trying to do here, just because of all the restrictions due to the pandemic. But we also made a conscious decision to focus more on home to try and just support our local scene乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮�媒�

While there are more local acts than other years, the 2021 Vancouver Island MusicFest will still have an abundance of talent from other parts of the province, and the country.

It will have an international flair to it as well, with segments shot in Austin, Texas, a 乌鸦传媒榖ehind the scenes乌鸦传媒� look at Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama, and even a one-hour segment shot in and around Scotland.

(Watch for a feature on those segments in an upcoming article.)

For more information on Vancouver Island MusicFest - The Virtual Edition, visit i

Like us on and follow us on .

Want to support local journalism? Make a donation