Pemberton Music Festival Canceled in 2009

Last year's Pemberton Music Festival near Whistler drew over 40,000 music lovers, powerhouse acts like Jay Z and Coldplay and was hailed by Rolling Stone as the "next Glastonbury"; it also (according to the Vancouver Sun) "generated about $35 million in economic spin-offs and fueled the busiest weekend of Whistler's summer season."

So it sucks that this year's much anticipated return of the festival has been canceled. The Vancouver Sun reported that the organizers fell too far behind due to a lengthy permit process with the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC). The ALC is concerned about the environmental impact on the soil (used for agriculture); last year, over 20,000 festival goers camped at the site.

On the one hand, it's good that the ALC is protecting the environment so assiduously. On the other...boy, is our region just taking one economic beating after another this year! I'm sure that $35 million "spin-off" will be sorely missed, especially given the already gloomy prospects for tourism.

But maybe I'm just being winter-grouchy about this news. What do you think?