A young woman died of a suspected drug overdose on Friday while attending a music festival that relocated to B.C. from Sturgeon County.
A news release from the B.C. RCMP said that on Aug. 1 a 24-year old woman from Leduc died from a suspected drug overdose at Boonstock Music and Arts Festival.
“Upon further investigation, police discovered that two other people were in critical condition at the hospital as a result of drug overdoses,” says the release. “The Penticton RCMP have a very real concern for public safety at this event and fear there may be further overdose deaths if attendees do not take steps to safeguard their own health.”
It’s been reported that dozens of concert goers were treated at a local hospital for various issues, including dehydration and drug and alcohol-related problems.
The festival was relocated to the south Okanagan near Penticton, B.C. after Sturgeon County’s council enacted a permanent ban last fall on the festival’s use of a site near Gibbons where it has previously been staged.
Mayor Tom Flynn said safety and security at and around the festival were concerns of council’s.
“It was a concern from day one, that’s part of why we were concerned about the standards that were there,” said Flynn.
The ban on the site lead organizers to move the event to the new location for its 10th year.
“Pretty sad to see anybody get seriously hurt or die as has happened,” Flynn said. “Our hearts go out to the families that have suffered a loss.”
He did note that people all have to have responsibility for themselves at the end of the day, but added county council had been concerned about the direction of the event.
“Those were the same concerns that we had when we made the decision last year. The safety and security of the people that attended, the neighbours and the people that drove there, those were the reasons that we made the decision that we did,” Flynn said.
Council had raised the bar on the standards required at the festival previously, Flynn said, but emergency services still raised a number of concerns.
By the end of last year’s Boonstock there had been 56 arrests, 2,000 verbal warnings and a break-in at a nearby residence.
A public statement posted on Boonstock’s Facebook page sent condolences to the loved ones of the woman who died.
“The culture of a music festival is one that provides a place where everyone belongs, is welcomed and watches out for one another. We would like to acknowledge our security team and guests who were quick to find help and assist emergency responders,” reads the statement, which noted Boonstock organizers would not comment on the matter further out of respect for the family.
A call to Colin Kobza, president of Boonstock Productions, was not immediately returned.
