The 2017 Pemberton Music Festival was cancelled this week after organizers went bankrupt, leaving thousands of ticket holders were in limbo.
Pemberton Music Festival LP and 1115666 B.C. LTD, collectively known as “PMF,” is in bankruptcy and Ernst & Young has been appointed as trustee. Updates from Ernst & Young say there will be no automatic refunds for ticket holders, who may have to wait weeks to learn whether they will get their money back.
Documents obtained by Postmedia also detailed how the festival had “incurred significant losses in each of the previous three years,” partly due to the weak Canadian dollar. The document says the festival and the 2017 festival had earned $8.225 million in revenue by May 18 while budgeted expenses had hit $22 million.
Squamish Valley Music Festival was also cancelled last year, with industry insiders noting the poor exchange rate and the competition for festival supremacy in the Pacific Northwest as factors in that decision. Some of the other festivals in the region include Shambhala, Rock the Shores, Rifflandia, Keloha, Merritt’s, Rockin’ River, Fvded in the Park, Sasquatch, Capitol Hill Block Party, and Bumbershoot.