Red Taping Raves Is the Opposite of Safe [Opinion]

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The definition of raves is also too broad

The city’s idea of what constitutes a rave, “after hour club parties, electronic music shows and electronic dance parties that feature fast-paced electronic music and light shows”, is quite vague. Any party featuring live electronic music, electronic dance parties, fast-paced settings, and light shows are essentially a rave. Restricting licensing for these events will basically choke the city’s nightlife scene.

There is no stopping the city from shutting down smaller events  by artist collectives. Organizations like Night Vision, United Bass Kollective, and even Fruit Loop are all common hosts of smaller events that cater to a local nightlife scene. They’re community staples for different groups in Edmonton. Events like UP+DT Music Festival may also feel the pinch.

Venues, hospitality staff, and artists will essentially have restrictions from operating in certain events. The communities will have nowhere to turn, but to take their reveling underground. Local artists showcasing their talent and culture will be pushed away from exposure and promotion, until the city determines what they want to do, which may prove disastrous for their success.

Edmonton may become a town straight out of Footloose

The 1984 move Footloose centers around about a small, puritan town called Bomont, under a prohibition of dancing and rock music. The town’s anti-dancing ordinances make for a stifled community, one that is repressed for fear of immoral influences.

Councillor Scott McKeen admits that he doesn’t want to be “portrayed as is the town council in Footloose, or as party poopers or as old fogies,” but they may achieve that look regardless. Options are present that allow the city to transcend the dangers of drug use, so why wouldn’t they use them?

Perhaps it’s a matter of time. Maybe the moratorium will be short lived and the civic working group will achieve this conclusion on their own. Harm reduction services might be taken seriously and utilized to stop strain on emergency services before it starts. But, not without impacting the local economy and pushing the parties elsewhere.

What do you think of the ban? What do you think should be done about rave safety? Let us know in the comments!