The event may be young, but it is already learning from the past.
The Sound Of Summer concert has made some changes this year out of sheer practicality, but doing so also scored the organizers some kismet that should take the fledgling annual event to new heights.
Or depths.
This year, the zombies are coming.
"We moved our date this year. We changed it to July so it was a lot earlier in the summer, just so the weather was warmer," said co-founder and lead organizer Yalda Safaei.
It had previously been an August thing, starting back in 2013. After last year's edition got thoroughly swamped in one of the fiercest downpours any festival-goer had ever endured at an outdoor event, Safaei and her team made the decision.
"The rain is no more predictable, but at least it will be warmer," she hoped.
It is almost impossible to hold a local event, anymore, and not be in conflict with some other event.
Sound Of Summer organizers worked with the City of Prince George to select a suitable date when Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park was available, but couldn't steer clear of everything happening in the city. As it turned out, that was a good thing.
"We got approached," said Safaei. "Zombiefest happened to be on the same day. Their people called our people. We agreed to work together. Now, all those costumes that people create for Zombiefest can be put to longer use. They get to show off their zombie characters more. I think, with FanCon and all the cosplay people are doing, that Prince George has a lot of people interested in that, and their crowd is a good fit with our crowd, so the zombies are coming to our event too."
Dancing with the undead? Why not? Just, for zombies, every song is a slow dance, even if it's a thrashing punk tune.
The bands scheduled for this year's Sound Of Summer feature some returning acts and some new ones to the event.
Mathias Rock, The Flying Machine, Phat Funk, Violent Night and The Statistics are all on the bill.
"They are all local bands, they all have CDs, they are all a level of professional musician we haven't had before as a total package," said Safaei, who is a noted musician herself.
It's another sign for Safaei that the one-time show she and a friend produced as a summer youth leadership activity, when they were only 16, has somehow grown up.
"It just dawned on me last week how amazing it is that we are saying things like 'the fourth annual.' The broader public for some reason decided to support us that first year, then the second year, and it's just expanded. Now, if I were unable to help out, it would still happen and that is really nice. It was 100 per cent on me, and that was stressful, so I'm pretty happy with how it is now, with others around helping with everything."
One of the biggest signs of support came from the Prince George Community Foundation. When that venerable organization struck a special committee especially for youth philanthropy, the Sound Of Summer show became one of the first to which they lent a hand, and Safaei even became a member of the committee. She is now a veteran event organizer, she is learning how to obtain grants, approach sponsors, and conjoin professionalism with volunteerism.
She is now in university, so the summer break from classes allows Safaei to focus on the event more than when she was in high school.
"One day, I look forward to seeing the 20th Annual Sound Of Summer festival and enjoy the show," she said. "I want it to move forward as an all-youth event, run by youth for youth, long after I'm off doing other things."
The event will have the music, the zombies and also a collection of vendors, information booths, and food. It takes place July 23 starting at 5 p.m.
