Photo: Electric Love Music Festival

There isn’t a whole lotta love coming from officialdom over the Electric Love Music Festival.

The three-day event is planned for July 29-Aug. 1 at the Allie Lake Ranch near Vidette, northwest of Kamloops.

But so far organizers have overlooked one rather critical step: permitting and approval from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

On Friday, the regional district issued a news release outlining its concerns over the unsanctioned music festival and a warning to anyone planning to attend: “There may be health and safety risks related to attending the event.”

The TNRD has made organizers aware of the legal requirements and its concerns over the remote location but hasn’t yet seen the necessary response. Specifically, it lists concerns as:

• Lack of co-ordinated safety and response plan with RCMP and other emergency services
• Adequacy of access for emergency vehicles to the event location
• Risk of wildfire
• Remote location of the event and distance from medical facilities 
• On-site sanitation and potable water
• Risk of harm to agricultural lands and sensitive environmental and riparian ecosystems

Not wanting to sound like party poopers, the regional district points to its experience with such events over the years: “The TNRD supports musical performance, the arts and cultural and entertainment gatherings and has significant experience in ensuring through its approvals process that events of this kind (and which have previously included the Merritt Mountain Music Festival) are conducted safely and with measures in place to protect both participants and the environment.”

Festival organizers were not immediately available for comment Friday.

The festival lineup, posted online, lists more than 130 musical acts, including Jon Treichel & The Tricky Hicks, a Kamloops band.

-NewsKamloops