Bass Coast organizers hosted the ‘Pixel Virtual Festival’ July 9-11, the dates the Bass Coast Festival was scheduled to run before its cancellation due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Famed for art and music that pushes society’s norms and boundaries, the online version was no different, featuring a variety of performances and art pieces, as well as discussion panels addressing mental health and racism.
“Pixel Virtual Festival went really well,” said Bass Coast co-founder Andrea Graham.
“It marked the weekend Bass Coast Festival would have taken place and it helped to bring our worldwide community together. The comments throughout the weekend were full of support, memories from years past, and healthy dialogue during the panels on Mental Health in 2020 and Break it Down: Addressing Systemic Racism in the Music Industry.”
The Virtual Festival was free to attend, and both music and art pieces presented in an online format were enjoyed by festival goers, who were also invited to donate to the BC Civil Liberties Association.
“The music sets were really well received, and all the performance pieces and further programming kept the audience engaged and excited,” said Graham.
“It was heartwarming to see and feel our community participating and sharing in this virtual medium. Our cohost for the first night was with 20/20 LDN, a music label out of London UK that is owned by Gove Kidao from Ivy Lab who headlined Bass Coast in 2018.”
Over the course of the weekend $2,645 was raised for the BC Civil Liberties Association. The streamed content had 16,000 live views, 12,000 chat messages and more than 293,000 minutes watched.
“The virtual festival did not replace Bass Coast, but it did offer a way to connect,” Graham said.
“The entire community is excited for the day we can return to gather safely in Merritt.”
