If you’re planning on purchase a ticket from outside either the Shambhala Ticket Exchange or Stubhub, we’d like to provide a few tips to reduce your chances of ticket scams, or over paying.
- Meet in person – This is the most important aspect of purchasing a ticket from Craigslist or Kajiji. Do not entertain a seller who’s not willing to meet in person.
- Know what the ticket looks like – Tickets won’t be in the mail for sometime, but when they have been delivered you’ll for sure see photos of them. Become familiar with them before setting out to look for one. Tickets in the past have been holographic on the face, with ticket details and a barcode on the back. While this is tricky to replicate, if you’re unsure of a tickets legitimacy, don’t follow through with a sale.
- DO NOT SUPPORT SCALPERS – Tickets should be sold at the value they’re were originally paid for. Scalping only benefits the seller, while hurting those who truly deserve to be at such a special event. Scalping can also lead to the increase of ticket prices and stricter, more difficult buying procedures.
- Patience – We sound like a broken record, but time is your best friend right now. People get wrapped up in ticket sales and buy before even knowing they can take the time off of work. Not to mention things ALWAYS happen and plans may have to be canceled. Lots of good-hearted people will be ready and willing tosell their ticket at face value if they do.
Photo: Insomniac Media
It’s no secret we’ve got a MASSIVE soft spot in our heart for Shambhala, but anyone else who’s been there can totally understand why. What once was one of British Columbia’s best kept secrets has now made it’s name across the country (and world), as one of the summers MUST ATTEND festivals. Music festivals have certainly become a part of summer tradition, and with their growing popularity so has the rise of ticket sales. So much so that some festivals have added a 2nd weekend to compensate for their popularity.
It’s easy to point the blame at scalpers, or demand that the event capacity be increased. But at the end of the day it’s not that simple, and the ones to really blame are the people wanting to experience the festival. When compared to the amount of tickets actually being scalped against the total amount of tickets sold it barely scratches the surface. Tickets are being sold at such a high rate because of the stories we tell when we come home. Places like Shambhala are special, and it’s no wonder they’re able to sell out tickets at the same rate as events 5 to 10 times their size.
[pullquote align=”right”]”Expansion is not just about physical space on the farm, it’s also about our infrastructure, the amount of space on the dance floor, etc, etc. We felt like last year was the perfect amount of people.” –Shambhala Music Festival[/pullquote]
Increasing their capacity will only take away from the intimate setting they provide, not to mention additional staff and infrastructure to accommodate them. Shambhala has chosen to stay at the size it has because they’re at a comfortable working level. Stages aren’t too cramped, there’s plenty of room to camp, and the permanent facilities are built to manage its attendance as is. We strongly urge those wanting to point blame at scalpers, or talk foul toward the small crew of people working year round on Shambhala to reconsider. As we said previously, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the hysteria after tickets have sold out. Just take a step back, breathe, and remember there are still plenty of ways to acquire a ticket.
We congratulate the staff and crew of Shambhala for a record-setting year, and look forward to seeing what’s in store for 2017. For those wishing to relive this year, be sure to check out Shambhala Films on YouTube, as well as our official 2016 recap with photos from photographer Jofferey Middleton-Hope. We hope to see you all on the Farm next year, but for now we’ll just say, “Happy Shambhala!”
UPDATE, 9/3/16:
Additional tickets are currently being sold here if paired with a Shambhalalodging package. The “Campsite Only” option is currently sold out, but BASSics is still available in limited quantities for $610 CAD ($469 American). Just add the Lodging package to your cart, and an option to include a ticket will appear directly below. Supplies won’t last long, so jump on now before it’s too late!
UPDATE, 9/7/16
All Shambhalodging packages (and the additional Shambhala tickets released with them) are now officially sold out.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
