As events across the world pull the plug due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of BC’s largest festivals is tentatively moving forward. 

Shambhala Music Festival has released a statement advising ticket holders that organizers are continuing to “cautiously prepare” for this year’s event scheduled for the July 24 to 27 weekend.

Shambhala's announcement arrives days after news that Nevada's iconic Burning Man had been canceled for the first time in the event's 30-plus year history.

However, BC's current ban on gatherings of over 50 people would have to be rescinded before Shambhala could proceed. 

Photo Credit: Shambhala Music Festival.

If the festival is canceled, ticket holders will be able to redeem their tickets at one of the next three years' events.

First started in 1998, the annual festival draws roughly 17,000 attendees to the 500-acre privately owned farm located in the Kootenay town of Salmo. 

Photo Credit: Shambhala Music Festival.

This year's event featured several of dance music's biggest names such as RL Grime and What So Not, along with plenty of BC bred talent like Bob Moses, Ekali and Whipped Cream.