For the first time in the event’s history, Jam in Jubilee organizers had to turn people away Thursday after 1,300 people crammed into the downtown park for a free concert by Vancouver band Said The Whale.
“We had a great turnout, a lot of fun,” Kristin van Vloten, one of the organizers of the event, told The News. Said The Whale is one of the largest acts booked by organizers, and van Vloten said the response illustrates a significant demand from the public for such shows.
But some people expressed disappointed after the park reached the capacity set by the event’s open site liquor license.
“We did have to turn some folks away, other folks remained lined up and were able to come in once others had left the park,” van Vloten said. “I think the lions share of Said The Whale fans were able to make it in … it was obviously an act people were very excited about.”
Jam in Jubilee is at capacity and this is the line to get in! This blows me away pic.twitter.com/5CY6rhhwgL
— Derrick Swallow (@DFAbove) July 7, 2017
Van Vloten said organizers will review plans in the future, and that the event’s capacity could be expanded in the future. But that entails hiring more security guards – an expensive proposition for an event that relies on funding from businesses and local organizations.
“If we get more people than we can accommodate according to our plan, it’s a good problem to have but we’d still prefer to host those folks.”
Said the Whale in the beautiful Jubilee Park! 😍 pic.twitter.com/41Jiq4BVEd
— Patrick Oystryk (@padeeo) July 7, 2017
Thursday’s show was the first of four concerts in the park to be held Thursday evenings throughout July. Jam In Jubilee is co-ordinated by the Jam in Jubilee Committee under the umbrella of the Abbotsford Arts Council.
Van Vloten says organizers can’t predict crowd sizes for subsequent concerts. She suggested some who never attended a concert before may choose to return for a second show. But the numbers could be somewhat smaller, given acts to come don’t have the same profile as Said The Whale.
The event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. For more information on future performances, visit jaminjubilee.com.
@ty_olsen
tolsen@abbynews.com
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