One of the biggest music festivals in the Kootenays has been cancelled due to what its board of directors say are rising debts and an inability to make a profit.
The Kaslo Jazz Etc. Fest announced Monday it is $250,000 in debt and is being forced to scale back this year’s event, with plans to return in 2027.
Board member Paul Hinrichs, who until November served as the festival’s executive and artistic director, said the event has not made a profit since 2019. Compounding losses in the last two years, he said, led to the cancellation.
“We realized we have to change the model, that we can’t continue to operate in a deficit that large.”
The festival has run almost annually since 1992, usually during the August long weekend, and is a signature tourism event in the Kootenays.
Hinrichs said the festival will scrap the three-day event, which had previously been scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 2, in lieu of smaller scale plans that are still being worked out.
Kaslo Jazz Etc. Fest was previously cancelled for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, then suffered what Hinrichs said was a significant financial loss in 2024 when wildfires in nearby Argenta erupted shortly before the event began. Hinrichs also cited rising infrastructure expenses — the festival constructs its venue in Kaslo Bay Park every year, which includes its floating stage — as well as staffing costs.
“The infrastructure and then the crew and contractors to pull off an event of that caliber, and with those variables that we’ve developed over the years, it’s just gotten to be unsustainable.”
No recent economic impact study has been completed by the festival or the Village of Kaslo, but Hinrichs said Kaslo Jazz Fest has capacity for 2,000 attendees per day and employs 80 managers, 120 contractors and 400 volunteers.
Kaslo Mayor Suzan Hewat said the festival is often the first introduction for tourists to the community of just over 1,000 residents.
“I hope that things will proceed, that they can raise enough funds to get themselves on level footing again, and continue to deliver on a festival in years to come because I think know people are going to miss it. Even if they haven’t partaken, it has been good for the community.”
When it does return, Hinrichs said it may not be in the form it is known for. Celebrated Canadian performers Corb Lund and Lights were among last year’s headliners, but Hinrichs said part of the board’s review will be to determine if it can continue to host big acts.
He expressed optimism, however, that the year off will benefit Kaslo Jazz Etc. Fest’s future.
“I do think there’s an opportunity here and that’s really the main thing is that we can do some smaller events to pay off that debt.”