Amidst the sea of 20-year-olds in hipster hats and the young girls with flowers in their hair, it wasn鈥檛 an uncommon sight to see doting parents pushing baby strollers around the sun-drenched grounds of the Squamish Valley Music Festival (SVMF).
For many, the perception still persists that multi-day music festivals are solely the domains of young adults who are set to full-on party mode, however parents at SVMF disagreed with that attitude.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great,鈥� said Squamish resident Kyle Lundstrom, sitting on the grass with his four-year-old daughter Rhyden waiting for her grandmother to arrive. 鈥淓veryone is happy. Everyone is smiling. Everyone gets along. It鈥檚 a great atmosphere. She鈥檚 been to the festival three years in a row now.鈥�
鈥淢y favourite part is dancing,鈥� Rhyden added with a shy smile.
Vancouverite Joanna Gyurkovics was pregnant at last year鈥檚 SVMF, and for this year鈥檚 event she and partner Sandor Hendrix have brought along six-month-old Zoe for the experience... complete with her own set of tiny pink noise-cancelling headphones.
鈥淪he was excited seeing the crowd,鈥� said Gyurkovics. 鈥淪he was almost vibrating with excitement at the lights and the sound. Sure there are drunk people around, but really everyone has been pretty well-behaved.鈥�
Hendrix said although many people were smoking at the event, he wasn鈥檛 really concerned about it affecting his child.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, open air venue,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not like people are walking around blowing smoke right in my baby鈥檚 face.鈥�
Gyurkovics said her only complaint has been the number of people who鈥檝e been so taken with little Zoe that they can鈥檛 resist playfully grabbing at her.
鈥淧eople coming up and touching the baby with their festival hands has been my only issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been saying 鈥楶lease, don鈥檛 touch the baby鈥� a lot.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 thinking of making 鈥楶lease, Don鈥檛 Touch The Baby鈥� t-shirts for the next festival,鈥� laughed Hendrix.
And although Gyurkovics said she wouldn鈥檛 classify SVMF as a 鈥渇amily鈥� event, they do plan on attending with Zoe next year.
Squamish resident Chris McBoyle agreed, but said his two-year-old daughter Chloe was enjoying the event, and families certainly could attend the festival and enjoy themselves.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been keeping her busy with food, bubbles and dancing,鈥� he said.聽
But, in the end, McBoyle said you do have to follow your children鈥檚 lead to ensure a good festival experience for the whole family.
鈥淲hen your kid tells you it鈥檚 time to go鈥� it鈥檚 time to go,鈥� he said, pointing at Chloe, who was already crawling into her stroller. 鈥淪ee鈥� it鈥檚 time to go.鈥�
