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Penticton  

No booze for Boonstock

According to a statement issued Friday by Ray Tetzel, Assistant Deputy General Manager, Compliance and Enforcement Division, Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, Boonstock is not getting its liquor license.

“After working with the RCMP and festival organizers, and reviewing the event’s safety and security plan, the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch is not confident that potential safety concerns identified with the Boonstock festival have been sufficiently addressed. As such, we will not be approving its liquor application.

Public safety is of paramount importance for any large-scale public events and the LCLB will not consider a licence application when security cannot be planned or communicated adequately.

This is a new event to the region and that’s why public safety officials worked hard to try and assist Boonstock organizers, providing them with guidance on what gaps needed to be filled to ensure that any potential risks were addressed. Unfortunately these risks remain outstanding.”

Mark Ziebarth, chair of the Boonstock Entertainment and Arts Society, said in response: "Boonstock Productions has posted a statement on Facebook saying, in effect, we have been thrown another bureaucratic curveball which we'll address and resolve. The show is on next week.

The RCMP and Penticton Indian Band have approved the security plan that liquor bureaucrats find fault with. We remain confident that Boonstock will deliver a fantastic and safe experience to our festival-goers next week."

The festival is slated to be held on the August long weekend in Penticton. On Friday, work was underway preparing the site for the festival.

 

 



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