Rossland’s Into the Trees is designed to stay small

The Labour Day weekend festival has expanded to three nights and 21 acts, but limiting attendance is central to the event — even when it makes the economics harder.

ROSSLAND — Into the Trees Music Festival will return to Rossland this Labour Day weekend with an expanded three-night schedule, 21 acts and a production budget of about $75,000. What will not expand much is the audience: organizer Daniel D’Amour said attendance will be limited to about 400 people each night at the forested site behind the Ram’s Head Inn, although the property could accommodate roughly 500.

The smaller crowd is intentional. “We picked the Ram's Head Inn's forested space specifically because we wanted to keep this event smaller in scale,” D’Amour said. “As organizers we feel that so many festivals have focused on growth in terms of guest numbers that at times, you can get away from what the event is all about.”

Into the Trees runs Sept. 4 to 6 and features headliners Delhi 2 Dublin, Elliott BROOD and Shred Kelly, along with touring and regional performers on two stages. The aim, D’Amour explained, is to create an outdoor festival that retains some of the intimacy of a club show, allowing audiences to see performers up close rather than from a distance in a large crowd.

That approach is not without challenges. This year’s budget is about $75,000, covering artists, accommodations, hospitality, security, staffing, equipment and venue rentals, licensing and other production costs, according to D’Amour. At the same time, organizers are deliberately limiting the number of tickets available.

“The fact that we are trying to keep it small and sustainable are not necessarily synonymous,” he said, describing the economics as a “double-edged sword.” Much of the challenge is reaching the festival’s break-even point through ticket sales while keeping attendance below 400.

Tourism Rossland is providing some support, contributing $5,000 this year along with marketing, photography and video assistance, according to D’Amour. Because he is also president of Tourism Rossland, D’Amour recused himself from the funding decision. He said the board declined the festival’s original request because the event was not large enough, but later approved a smaller grant.

The festival also fits with a broader effort to attract visitors to Rossland outside its peak winter season. Increasing off-season visitation is part of Tourism Rossland’s strategic direction, and D’Amour was previously involved with Between the Peaks, an outdoor music festival that ran for two years at the base of RED Mountain.

The first Into the Trees drew largely from close to home, with D’Amour estimating that about 200 attendees came from Rossland and another roughly 25 travelled from elsewhere in the West Kootenays. This year, ticket buyers have also come from Nelson, Kimberley and the South Okanagan.

Artists will stay at The Josie Hotel, Nowhere Special Hostel and the Ram’s Head Inn. D’Amour also said 24 rooms have been booked for people arriving from outside the community. Those visitors matter even if the festival itself remains small. Rather than building an event around large attendance numbers, Into the Trees is intended to give people another reason to spend time in Rossland outside the winter tourism season.

Putting on a festival capped at 400 people per night still requires a sizeable operation. About 30 people are involved over the weekend, including D’Amour and his wife, Jaime, who assists with setup and teardown, helps oversee operations and works at the bar. A three-person sound engineering team handles the performances, while eight to 12 volunteers help with setup, teardown, ticket scanning and wristbands. Paid staff also handle food service, security and transportation, and outside contractors provide fencing and portable washrooms.

The venue itself has also evolved with the festival. A permanent stage was already on the Ram’s Head property before Into the Trees began, and Pebble Design built a second stage last spring, allowing organizers to showcase singer-songwriters as well as full bands.

Organizers also made changes after the first year exposed some practical challenges. Transportation was one of them, so this year a complimentary shuttle will run from the Flying Steamshovel to the festival site, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Weather planning was another lesson. “We also learned that we needed to have more tented areas in the event of heavier rain falls,” D’Amour said. The festival will proceed in rainy conditions, with guests asked to bring rain gear, while wildfire smoke could force a more substantial change. If smoke levels require the event to move indoors, organizers would have to reduce the number of artists performing.

D’Amour said organizers are hoping for cooler temperatures and precipitation before Labour Day weekend. Despite the additional night, larger lineup and growing interest from outside Rossland, they have no plans to use the full capacity of the site this year; 400 remains the limit they have chosen.

“The whole idea is that it's an intimate outdoor festival where you can see artists performing up close and personal,” D’Amour said, “as you would in a club-style setting.”

For Into the Trees, staying small is part of what distinguishes the festival. The challenge is making that choice financially sustainable as the event develops.