Neighbours of a proposed music festival in rural Grey Highlands worry the 25,000 expected attendees will be putting themselves and the community at risk if the event is allowed to go ahead.
This week, Duncan-area resident Beverley Smith sent out a media release that expressed "serious concerns" about "inappropriate" plans for the 2025 Lit Galaxy Festival to be held on a 150-acre farm property near Duncan on The Blue Mountains/Grey Highlands townline.
“Local residents are adamant that the scale and nature of this event are entirely inappropriate for a rural area,” Smith stated in the news release.
Johny Mikahel, CEO of iRadios Inc., presented the plans for the concert/festival to Grey Highlands council in July. The event is expected to attract up to 25,000 people to the area and would include camping and parking areas, washroom stations, food vendors, a vendor market and a number of artistic and musical activities.
In an interview, Smith was joined by Brian Ross, the owner of the property immediately next to the site of the proposed festival and local resident David Scoon.
All three of them say it's absurd to hold an event of this magnitude on a rural property with limited road access. Currently, the farmland and forest property is only accessible via a single gravel road.
Other concerns include: traffic management, environmental impacts, fire hazards, impacts on local wildlife and waste management.
“We want the municipalities of Grey Highlands and The Blue Mountains to acknowledge this is not appropriate,” Smith said. “There are appropriate venues for parties and large gatherings. This isn’t one of them.”
Ross, who lives next door to the proposed location, said he is worried the municipality will “get left holding the bag” if something goes wrong.
“This is the most ridiculous location for an event of more than 200 people,” he said, questioning how parking, camping, washroom facilities, security and emergency services for 25,000 people would ever be able to fit on the property. “This is a huge risk to the whole neighbourhood.”
In the coming weeks, area residents are planning delegations to the councils for The Blue Mountains and Grey Highlands to express their opposition to the event.
Scoon said such an event could have a major impact on the entire area.
“It’s not just the local neighbours we’re concerned about. It’s the broader community that will be severely and negatively impacted,” said Scoon, who questioned how emergency services could be organized to be on site for an entire weekend. “If emergency services are on site, what happens to the rest of the community?”
In an email, Grey Highlands CAO Karen Govan confirmed that the municipality has received a special event permit application for the proposed festival/concert from the promoters. Govan said Grey Highlands council will make the final decision on the application after a report from staff. The report is expected in the fall of 2024.
The CAO said there is an extensive list of requirements the promoters must meet in order to receive a permit for such an event.
“The special event permit process requires that the applicant addresses any concerns or questions from the municipality and that staff are satisfied with the responses or actions taken before a report can be presented to council," said Govan.
"The OPP, Grey Highlands fire department and Grey County paramedics would need to receive and approve emergency plans. Damage deposits would need to be placed with the municipality for any municipal property or roadway. Local agencies such as the conservation authority and or Niagara Escarpment Commission will be circulated for comments on environmental and zoning considerations."
The CAO said the organizers would have to provide full insurance information and would require a separate Party Liability Insurance policy if alcohol is being served at the event. The event may also require bylaw exemptions for noise, marking and road closures.
“There is a lot to consider with an event of this magnitude and it will be thoroughly researched before making any staff recommendations to council,” Govan added.
