IN CONCERT
The Big Time Out featuring Elliott Brood, Humans, Black Mountain, Bahamas Longwalkshortdock and more
When: Saturday and Sunday
Where: Cumberland Village Park, Pyramid Lounge, Waverly Hotel and more
Tickets: $70 (daily), $105 (twoday pass) available at Lyle's Place, Lucid (Nanaimo) and others
The Big Time Out hit a big-time speedbump in 2011, forcing the longtime Cumberland festival to relocate at the last minute to a location outside the municipality.
No such concerns are evident heading into this weekend. In fact, the Big Time Out is back in action and poised to be better than ever.
"The team and the community have galvanized around it," said Meaghan Cursons, the festival's media liaison. "It's back with a five-year plan. It's here to stay."
The big news for fans of the festival, now in its seventh year, is a return to Cumberland Village Park, the hub for many of Cumberland's 3,200 residents.
For its seventh edition, the Big Time Out is connecting the village main stage with five off-site venues, including three downtown Cumberland pubs. It marks the first time in festival history that sets by dozens of acts - including Elliott Brood, Humans, Black Mountain, Bahamas and Longwalkshortdock - will take place in eight Cumberland venues.
"That is the new development," Cursons said. "This is the first go at that, and a lot of people have been super-supportive."
Another new facet of the festival is the onewristband ticketing approach, which allows patrons to move between venues.
Cursons, a Cumberland resident, hopes that adds another level of community spirit to what is already a decidedly closeknit event.
It won't be the biggest Big Time Out to date, but that's by design. In previous years, when the audience reached upwards of 5,000, some felt it was too big for such a small community. This year, Cursons said, the focus is on bringing the festival back up to speed - albeit slowly.
She expects that even with 2,000 people gathered at the park main stage, attendees will be able to move freely. "It's a nicesized crowd. You can be close enough to enjoy the show, but there will be a nice intimacy to it."
That's not to say the event won't return to its peak-performance level in coming years, according to Cursons.
With an illustrious past that included headliners Spearhead, K'Naan, Matisyahu, Broken Social Scene, Sarah Harmer and Metric, the event was designed to shift seamlessly from big to small, depending on the lineup.
"It's a moving target. It is always the same weekend, but there's always a surprise to it. We're not bound to one particular model."
The Big Time Out features dance, art, indie rock and electronica. But for all its myriad offerings, the strongest pull for locals is the distinct by-Cumberland, for-Cumberland vibe to the proceedings.
"The production company is being really responsible in its practice," Cursons said of Wild Bunch Productions and artistic director Vig Schulman, who founded the festival.
"It's not, 'Do one big show and then get out.' And it's not just an event, it's one that is inextricably linked with Cumberland.
That's the key. It is not an event that stands separate from the community."
