Rankin Inlet Fire Chief Mark Wyatt said there will be no extra emergency measures put in place for the Jammin' on the Bay Tribute Fest music festival in Rankin Inlet this coming weekend from Aug. 2-5.
The Rankin Inlet Fire Department will have its normal complement ready and there will be people on call for ambulance services. Bylaw officers will be visible at the festival, and the RCMP are expected to bring in an extra four or five people for Jammin' on the Bay, as well.
Agnico Eagle Mines is also expected to provide a number of people for security at some of the venues.
Wyatt said music festivals, when they're confined to a certain area, aren't really that big a problem.
He said when you look at Woodstock, one of the first music festivals ever put together, and organized by 20-year-old kids who had never done anything like that before, everything went pretty smooth.
“They had three times the amount of people that they were expecting and it was one of the most peaceful concerts ever,” said Wyatt.
“People are there to listen to music and I think we have more issues at the Legion or during a beer dance than we would at a music festival. We'll see how this goes, but it will be interesting.
“As for any fear mongering that might be going on, we've had two drug overdose deaths in my almost nine years in Rankin. You're always a little worried, anywhere you might be, when you hear the word fentanyl being present. But the only way that's going to come up here is if it gets into cocaine or something like that, and that can happen. But if it does, it does.
“We've never had to use Naloxone to save anyone in Rankin, but, if called upon, we know how to use it and away you go.”
Wyatt said he was disappointed in the fact hamlet council voted down a beer garden for the event. He made a personal presentation on behalf of the beer garden, but to no avail.
“Having it turned down was just ridiculous. It was our Legion who applied for the beer garden and I went in front of hamlet council about it and they said no thanks, we don't need a beer garden.
“Council said if we hold a beer garden, we might have to close down the beer and wine store for the weekend, or something like that, so, what we've decided to do with the Legion is to provide shuttles back and forth between the Jammin' on the Bay stage and the Legion, and we've extended our hours.”
“I'm looking forward, like everyone else, to hear a few good bands and I'll make sure the Legion is running properly, not over-serving anyone and helping to make the event a good thing.
“Had we had a beer garden there, I think it would have enhanced things a bit, and it would have helped manage how people are drinking at the event. Now people will drink at the Legion, where we can monitor them more, or they'll drink at home first and then go to the festival. That's just the way it goes. But, I think things are going to go well and it will be a successful event.”