West Coast stoked on Otalith

Live-music lovers gathered at the Ucluelet Aquarium for a taste of the musical buffet ready to come their way at this year’s Otalith Music Festival.

Festival enthusiasts are lining up for a third helping of the West Coast’s premier live-music event and the Aquarium hosted a sneak pick of what’s in store at a lineup launch party on May 22.

The annual festival, which is held in late-August, made its first appearance in 2013 after a group of locals came together to put the West Coast’s stamp on BC’s live-music scene.

The group formed the non-profit Pacific Rim Music Society and are stoked to see their efforts blossom into a third annual offering. 

“It’s kind of amazing that it’s happening for a third time,” said the society’s marketing director Jessie Fletcher.

“I don’t think any of us expected to make it through the first year—that was the most terrifying thing we’ve ever undertaken—but we have such a great community between Tofino and Ucluelet; the amount of support we’ve gotten is unreal. We couldn’t have done this without the community support that we get and, because of that, we will continue to do it as long as we can.”

The festival’s vibe has been tinkered with this year with an infusion of DJ’s and hip-hop artists ready to up the grounds’ grooving opportunities.

“Every year we try to do something that’s really different and unique...It’s going to be really fun and people are going to bring their party shoes and have a really nice time,” Fletcher said.

 â€œWe want to keep branching out and making it more inclusive and really picking acts that think differently and perform a little bit outside the box...There’s so much great music out there, it just felt kind of shortsighted to stick with three genres.”

The festival’s traditional two-day calendar has been stretched out to include a Tofino-only show on Thursday, Aug. 20, before spending Friday and Saturday in Ucluelet.

Tofino’s show is already sold out but tickets remain for both Ucluelet days and a few early bird tickets are left for price-savvy festivalers.

The society has partnered with the Ucluelet Campground to help accommodate this year’s out-of-town crowd.

More information can be found at www.otalithfestival.com. 

Andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca