The Bass Coast Festival has come together to help the community and is back in action this summer.
Bass Coast is a music festival that takes place every summer in Merritt, BC since 2013. Back in November, all 7,000 residents of Merritt had to evacuate because of heavy rainfall that caused the Coldwater River to overrun and flood the community. Many people lost their homes and livestock to the flood, the city’s wastewater treatment system was damaged and bridges and highways were wiped out.
Right away, Bass Coast started a GoFundMe page for the victims for the community and donated $5,000 of their own. The $15,000 goal was surpassed within 24 hours as they raised a total of $21,100. Bass Coast announced last week that the money went to the Merritt Rotary Disaster Relief Fund and six local Indigenous bands to aid relief efforts. An additional $1,000 went to the Nicola Valley Food Bank.
“The Bass Coast community came together to raise funds to support the host town of the festival,” said Bass Coast founders Andrea Graham and Liz Thomson. “The generosity of the community was astonishing.”
Bass Coast also announced that their music festival is back in July after being canceled the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past two years have had plenty of ups and downs,” says co-founder Andrea Graham. “Each challenge has presented new opportunities to think creatively and collaboratively. We’re thrilled to be returning in 2022 and connecting further with the Merritt community.”
Tickets were supposed to go on sale back in November but they pushed the date back because of the flooding. Tickets are on sale now.
This will be Bass Coast’s 13th annual festival. The event, which is fully artist-owned and produced, will feature over 150 performers from all across the world across four stages as well as interactive art and thought-provoking workshops.
The event is happening from July 8-11 and the lineup will be announced soon.
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