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Montreal ‘Piknic’ may come to Pier Park

An event that’s become the highlight of summer in Montreal may soon be the next big thing for New Westminster.
piknic
If Piknic Elektronic comes to New West this summer, it would set up at Pier Park and run a beach-themed music event.

An event that’s become the highlight of summer in Montreal may soon be the next big thing for New Westminster.

Piknic Elektronic, an electronic dance music festival that started in Montreal more than a decade ago, could be coming to Westminster Pier Park this August.

Vancouver-based organizers Beyond Marketing Group approached the city last year about hosting an inaugural West Coast event in New Westminster. Last month, they appeared before city council to pitch their plan for a beach-themed electronic music festival at the park on Saturday, Aug. 20 and Sunday, Aug. 21.

They requested the city cover the fees associated with using the space during what would be a trial event, amounting to an estimated $23,630 plus about $3,000 for site supervision, maintenance and post-event cleanup (removing garbage and recycling from the park). Council approved the request knowing that if the festival is successful, organizers would return in 2017 for a longer engagement, possibly five or six weekends.

“Obviously we still have to go through the process of putting the pieces together,” Chris Lee of Beyond Marketing Group told the Record. “The biggest challenge here is getting talent, and four months out is actually very tough, so we are trying to make something happen this year, but it’s not guaranteed.”

Initially, there was some concern the event is scheduled for the same day as both the Columbia StrEAT Food Truck festival and the Quayside Boardwalk Festival and Sale, but Lee said having all three events in the downtown on one day could work out in Piknic’s favour.

“We feel like it’s a good complement to each other. I think there’s going to be a crowd that maybe doesn’t know anything about the food truck festival, but at the same we think that there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, and why they shouldn’t attend that and why they shouldn’t attend our event,” Lee suggested.

While some electronic music festivals are geared towards a younger crowd, Lee said Piknic is really for an older, more mature audience and even kids are invited to join in the festivities. The key is to make the festival as accessible to all demographics as possible, he added.

 

What to expect

Part of Westminster Pier Park would be closed to the public starting at 6 p.m. on the Thursday before the festival for set-up, and it would reopen on Monday around 6 a.m. The two-day event would begin mid-afternoon on both Saturday and Sunday. The festival site includes the whole urban beach and blacktop area at Westminster Pier Park. There will also be food trucks, sponsor and picnic areas, and a children’s activity area.

“The reality is electronic music has been around for a while now. Maybe (people) started listening to it when they were younger, but now they’re older and they have kids, but they still love electronic music and we should be able to give them the opportunity to bring their family down and to enjoy it,” Lee said.

Organizers should know in the next two to three weeks whether or not Piknic Elektronic will go ahead as planned this August depending on if they’re able to secure musicians for the event. If they aren’t, Lee said they’ll be back next year to host a trial festival and then, if it’s a hit, they’ll run a full festival in 2018.

What is Piknic Elektronic?

  • Started in Montreal 13 years ago, the festival is a daytime picnic-style concert in the park and celebrates electronic music.
  • The New West event is beach-themed, taking advantage of Westminster Pier Park’s urban beach.
  • Tickets cost between $20 and $25.
  • There will be food and beverage vendors at the site, but you can also bring your own food. (Outside alcohol is prohibited.)
  • There will be no in-and-out privileges, so pack food and drinks accordingly.