Shambhala is an annual electronic music festival held during the first week of August at the Salmo River Ranch in the West Kootenay mountains of British Columbia. The festival lasts four days and three nights and offers a mix of music and art in the middle of nature.
The festival began in 1998 and has grown to become the largest and one of the longest running electronic music event in Canada,"A place of excitement, dancing, events, scenes and many great locations to entertain yourself with... it is jampacked with thousands of foreigners from around the globe and is a breath taking experience every time an individual goes because of its unique aura, ambience and chic", , featuring DJs and performers from around the globe. It has six uniquely themed stages which consist of The Living Room, The Rock Pit (formerly the Jungle Pit), The Fractal Forest, The Village, The Labyrinth (formerly The Portal, The Inna Sancdom), and The Pagoda (formerly Main Stage), and is held on the Salmo River Ranch, a 500-acre (2.0 km2) cattle ranch in the mountains outside of Nelson. Since the beginning, it has been a family-run event and has never accepted any corporate sponsorship; advertising is by word of mouth. In the summer months, the ranch becomes home to volunteers & event staff who contribute to repairing and adding on to the many permanent structures on site.
In Spring 2008 with the launch of the '08 website, it was announced that two of the stages would be undergoing transformation. The former Portal stage, under new stage management has become The Labyrinth and Main Stage has adopted an Oriental theme with its new name, The Pagoda.
The Summer of 2008 marked the release of the Shambhala Music Festival DVD, showing 10 years of the festival. The documentary, directed by filmmaker Malcolm Levy, looks at Shambhala's history, and "follows different characters through a year in the life of Shambhala from the perspective of DJ’s, people in charge, first aid attendants and others."
For 2011 Shambhala won Best Large Event at The International Breakspoll Awards.[1]
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