Glass, cans – doesn’t matter. All alcohol is banned. If any is found when you go through Searches, it will be dumped out. And no, we don’t have a beer garden. This is an alcohol-free event.

That might seem kinda weird – I mean, Shambs is 19+, right? Right. But our age limit is unrelated to the legal drinking age.

A long time ago, when the festival was in it’s infancy, we hit a crossroads – do we allow alcohol or don’t we? We wanted the festival we were building to be different from the clubs and the bars. Seeing how frequently fights broke out after the bar helped us make up our minds – that didn’t fit with the vision we had for our festival. So we treaded into unknown territory and banned alcohol.

Over the years, we noticed something. Compared to many festivals of similar size that allow alcohol, our festival’s incident rate is way lower. Not only does that make the festival safer – it creates a better vibe.

Sound alright to you? Crack a coconut water and join us on the banks of the Salmo River!

No campfires or open flame of any kind! B.C. is extremely dry during August and provincial fire bans are in effect.
 
So, what shouldn’t you bring? Candles, fireworks, fire poi / hoops / other fire toys, fuel (white gas), tiki torches, and hibatchi style camp stoves. Certain kinds of camp stoves are ok.

Wanna decorate your camp with things that light up at night? That’s great! There are tons of great LED & solar light options available now – even el-wire if you want to get really creative.

If you’re a smoker please make sure you always have a small container with you to dispose of butts – the grounds are pretty dry and if you toss a butt on the ground, it could easily start a fire.

We don’t allow stand alone gennies or the use of generators built into RVs in the Shambhala Campgrounds. The Campgrounds are pretty densely packed and generators would create both noise and air pollution for your neighbours.

There’s no public access to electricity for personal care (ie: hair dryers) at the Salmo River Ranch.

Need your phone or camera charged? The Columbia Wireless kiosk offers charging services.

If you need electricity to charge your electric wheelchair, or have another medical device that requires power, please contact us at info@shambhalamusicfestival.com so we can arrange access for you. Click here for more info on Disabled Camping.

Broken glass can cut bare festival feet – and who wants injured feet when they’ve come to dance? Plus, after the festival is just a dusty memory, broken glass hiding in the grass could seriously injure one of the animals that call the Salmo River Ranch home.

Glass is banned to protect you, and our beloved cows, horses, ponies, donkeys and dogs.

Banned glass items include large mirrors, drink containers, decorative glassware, etc.

Small jars of food (jam, condiments, pickles) are ok, but must be kept inside your camp. Even then – we really recommend transferring these items into small tupperware containers.

No handheld laser pointers. Leave ‘em at home. Especially if you spent a lot of money on yours.

“But YOU GUYS have lasers!” – Yeah, we do. They’re operated by professionals perched high in lighting towers.

Laser pointers can very seriously damage someone’s vision. We’re sure that you’re super careful, but we just can’t take the chance of having them out there on the dancefloor at eye level.

The first word says it all here, doesn’t it? Matters involving illegal substances will be turned over to the RCMP. Period.

Because lots of pedestrians all the time, that’s why. Only authorized Shambhala Drivers can operate motorized vehicles during the festival.

The motorized vehicle ban includes minibikes, golf carts, ATVs, dirtbikes, motorized couches (yeah, that actually happened), etc.

We totally encourage pedal-powered transportation. Bring your bike or bike-like creation!

A festival is no place for pets. It’s hot during the day and you’re not going to be at your camp much. Besides that – dogs in numbers run in packs. And that’s not cool. Leave your pet in the care of someone who loves them or make boarding arrangements.

We won’t allow anyone with a pet (including dogs, cats, birds, rats, etc) into the festival. No exceptions.

If you see a couple dogs on site, it’s not that someone’s slipped their pet in – those are our farm dogs roaming their territory. They love the festival.

Obvious, right? This includes machetes, knives, swords, guns, axes, baseball bats, etc. Anything that could potentially harm another guest can be considered a weapon.

Cooking knives must be under 6 inches.