The Atlin Arts & Music Festival is finally back, after six years, with its 2025 edition taking place July 11 to 13
“It’s been a long time coming … It’s been an extremely long time coming. It’s a little bit nervewracking, too. It’s exciting and nervewracking.”
It wasn’t easy to build back the Atlin Arts & Music Festival (AAMF) after the pandemic put an indefinite hold on its ability to take place. It’s been six years since the festival last graced the northern B.C. community’s Tarahne Provincial Park, and demand has been steadily rising for its return throughout that time.
“I think it’s extremely exciting,” says Theresa Beaudoin, festival treasurer. “It’s been a long time coming … It’s been an extremely long time coming. It’s a little bit nervewracking, too. It’s exciting and nervewracking.”
The team behind the festival is approaching this year with caution, treading carefully while hoping for the best and seeing how things go. The looming question as to whether they can pull off a full return for the highly-anticipated event will be answered July 11 to 13.
“It’s a monumental challenge to bring it back and we’re learning as we go and having to learn from our mistakes as we go,” says Stephen Lancaster, festival president. “We’re certainly positive about figuring it out, to make it successful.”
In late 2019, an almost entirely new board was picked for a 2020 edition of the festival that did not end up happening. Lancaster says only ashes were left of the festival once the pandemic swept through, and he felt the team was starting at square one in putting on a new edition.
“We did hire a producer and artistic director for the 2020 year, just before covid hit,” explains Beaudoin. “We had received grant money that was sitting in the bank and we decided, then, to do a documentary because we had to cancel the festival and thought, What could we do with this money?”
With Matthew Lien hired to create a documentary about the history of the festival, a project for the stacking off-seasons was set in motion. Lots of past and returning performers will be featured in the documentary, which will cover the festival’s history through its beginning, growth and cancellations during covid years—right up until this year, ending with the 2025 return.
“This year, we are going to go ahead and do it,” Beaudoin says. “And we’re going to finish that documentary with this festival.”
Through all of the challenges with finding the right producers, securing funding and making people believe that the festival really would return, Beaudoin highlights the importance of having not lost hope, saying that she remains confident that this year’s festival will be exactly what people have been waiting for these past six years.
“We have been struggling, but I have faith in us that we can pull this off and we will pull this off,” she says. “It’s a challenge, but once it all comes together, it’ll be a good event, and people are looking forward to it.”
A few years in, when pandemic restrictions were being lifted, Beaudoin started to hear murmurings that Yukoners wanted the AAMF to return. When people began eagerly asking when it was coming back, she knew it was something that could once again be a success, returning to its former glory and recementing itself as a major annual event for the North.
“The festival … it’s not just about the music,” she says. “It’s about bringing people together.”
This year’s lineup is stacked with talent, featuring both travelling and local acts. Nearly 30 bands and artists will perform over the festival’s three days, including The Sadies (Toronto), The Grapes of Wrath (Kelowna, B.C.) and Tiller’s Folly (Vancouver area), plus Yukon-based acts such as Claire Ness, Bria Rose N’ Thorns, Hendrika, and many more. A number of visual artists will display their work and lead workshops.
To Lancaster, coming out this year means more than just enjoying a weekend of live music and art; it means being part of a story. “It’s like the end of a movie,” he says. “You can be part of the success of rising out of the ashes and making this event what it used to be. It’s kind of a Kumbaya feeling where you get to hang out with friends and enjoy each other’s company.”
With the festival coming up quickly, the board is searching for more volunteers to be on-site, so the weekend will run as smoothly as it can. Volunteers are still needed in several areas of the festival, to fill such roles as security personnel, beer garden staff, Kids’ Zone attendees and merchandise handlers. Volunteers for the set-up and tear down of the festival are also needed, and those who work prior to the festival will receive a free ticket with a camping spot so they can enjoy the weekend of music, arts and community.
Beaudoin and Lancaster agree that having a festival in the secluded northern B.C. town of Atlin is a special experience, with Beaudoin noting that it is closer to Whitehorse than Dawson City, which is another of the North’s summer music-festival destinations.
“We’re so far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, and the beauty that surrounds this town just gives people the mental freedom to relax and express themselves and feel safe, and just be friendly with each other on a level that normally you just wouldn’t experience every day in your normal life,” says Lancaster. “The opportunity to have that external experience … I think people are looking forward to it.”
Adding to Lancaster’s points, Beaudoin says a lot of Yukoners love coming to Atlin and are always eager to have a reason to go and visit the town and be immersed in its friendly community. She also takes a moment to say that the festival is always searching for new sponsorship, and she makes sure to thank its existing sponsors, saying that is always helpful because government-grant applications are not always successful.
“We’re relying heavily on our sponsorship and our community, and [on] selling tickets,” she says.
Tickets are selling fast for this year’s festival, and with limited spots still available, the time to secure your ticket is now. To see the full lineup and to find information on volunteering, camping and tickets, visit atlinfest.ca.
“We will have a very enjoyable festival,” says Beaudoin. “There will be a little bit for everybody.”
