There is a lot of bark going on over Woof Stock.
This upstart music festival is setting up to be the biggest slate of bands under one banner in this city since the Salmon Valley Music Festival in the early 1990s.
The headliners on the Woof Stock leash include cowboy rocker Corb Lund, glam paragon Twisted Sister, big-buzz B.C. boy Sam Weber, power-folk trio The Lion The Bear The Fox, the multicultural party mash of Delhi 2 Dublin, the Swedish deejay star Liquid Stranger, and many more.
So many we didn't have room in the first paragraph to mention Trooper, Chilliwack, Helix, David Gogo, Good For Grapes, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Mihirangi, Funkanomics, Head Of The Herd and many more we don't have room to mention in the second paragraph. There certainly wasn't room to fit them all on one stage in a day or even two stages over a weekend. Woof Stock is chalk with these names - many of them local, working shoulder to shoulder with Germans, Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, and a stack of Canucks - on three stages from Aug. 27-31.
"We have lots of variety, lots of genres," said Woof Stock festival director Jordan Corrigal. "A lot of these artists are also doing workshops and lectures, and by artists there is a lot more than just music. We will have live art, and collaborations going on. It's going to be fun. It's about the festival atmosphere, the whole arts scene, the vending, the camping, it's not just about music. But we have a lot of music for you."
The festival is primarily a private enterprise, with the partners pledging to channel proceeds to the local branch of the SPCA and Humane Society - hence the name of the event.
"Oh yeah, we are going to run this annually," said Corrigal. "We will always put our charitable focus on the animals, wildlife, the environment, protection of the natural world in whatever form that takes."
While most festivals start off with a handful of acts fit tightly into a weekend, Woof Stock organizers wanted their first year to be significant "so the fans could see we were bringing value."
They are also going for a major spectacle all wrapped up into the event. They are going to gather everyone on-site to have a group hug on Aug. 29. They need 10,555 people to break the Guinness World
Record.
"We are going to go for the record," said Corrigal. "We want that for Prince George for the city's centennial. We have a judge coming from the Guinness organization. And even if we don't get the record, who doesn't want to have a big hug from the community? Go for something big like a world record? And step out from that shadow other people put on Prince George about crime. And that was never a real thing, that was someone else's views being put on us, and now we have to combat that. We just hosted the Canada Winter Games, now we have this, to show people what Prince George really is.
"This has been the most fun in one year Prince George has ever had, with all the events and special things happening, so we want to add to that and keep the momentum going."
There are a range of ticket options, from one-day to all weekend long, from regular to children (as long as they are accompanied by an appropriate adult), and for those who can't afford to attend there are volunteer opportunities to earn a spot inside the gates.
The entire festival will be held on the grounds of the Vivian Lake Resort, north of the city, down at the western end of Chief Lake/Ness Lake Road. It is in the vicinity of Eskers Provincial Park.
