Grasmere, nestled against the Montana border and east shore of Lake Koocanusa, will be home to Fozzyfest this weekend.

Fozzyfest is an annual music festival, running since 2005 in Alberta, that is coming to Grasmere (Big Springs) because its planned location and backup venues were flooded out last week.

“Tuesday at 4:59 p.m. we were in tears and literally within seconds of sending out the cancellation notice when the call came. It was Darryl & Chris on the satellite phone. After five days and countless hours of searching we managed to find a site for this year’s festival and we think it is bigger, better and more beautiful than our original site. Nestled on the shores of Lake Koocanusa, just west of Grasmere B.C., we found paradise,” notes the festival’s website fozzfest.com.

“We could not be more excited about this location! The site is on a proper campground with actual camping sites, grassy fields, room for heaps of people, and a proper beach! A beautiful sandy beach!” The site proclaims.

Not surprisingly, regional authorities are bracing for an influx of even more visitors than usual during the busiest time of the year along Koocanusa.

Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area B Director Heath Slee told e-KNOW, “Understandably a huge influx of people in such a small community is a concern,” he said, noting sanitation and security top the list of worries.

Slee said he is communicating with the Elk Valley RCMP Detachment, which is aware of the arrival of the event.

Festival organizers said they looked into a number of other sites in Kananaskis, Sundre, Water Valley, Cochrane, and as far east as Saskatchewan and “none of them were acceptable for our usage.”

Organizers also note they are not issuing refunds despite the change in venue.

“We know it’s a little further but just come! Trust us, it will be totally worth it! If you really don’t want too make the journey you can always sell your ticket,” they suggest on their website.

“The volunteers who make up the FozzyFest Organizing Committee have been working tirelessly for months to bring you the most entertaining weekend that we can imagine and we were so incredibly proud to unveil it this weekend. We have stepped up every aspect of the festival and now, more then ever, we’re excited to share it with our amazing friends and family. So come one, come all! Bring love, dancing shoes, positive vibes and your bathing suits! It’s going to be beautiful.”

For more: http://fozzyfest.com

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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