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Services


Services

Services, Cont.

Health & Safety Services

Artisan Market

Our bustling Artisan Market like nothing you’ll find anywhere else! One of a kind pieces, handcrafted goodies, furry hoods and costumes galore. The Shambhala Artisan Market features over 40 unique vendors. You’re sure to find a thing or two to compliment your costumes, or some comfy threads for the trip home.

Artisan Vendor profiles coming June/July 2013

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ATMs

There are 5 ATMs available at the festival with 24 hour service. Four are located “Downtown”, one is located at the Reception building near the Gate.

While this service is available, we do recommend taking out some cash ahead of time – the wait times for the ATM can be long depending on the time of day.

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Attractions

We’ll have a few special treats for you in Downtown Shambhala! Check back closer to the festival for specific details!

Attractions profiles coming June/July 2013

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Baggage Shuttle

We’ve got a by-donation baggage shuttle to help you get your gear to your desired Camp Zone from the Free Parking Lot located near the gate! Stops at various points in Sunshine, Starlight & Metta Camp Zones.

Money raised goes to the Kootenay Romanian Relief Organization. For more info, see the Camping & Parking page.

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BASScamp


In the heart of Downtown Shambhala is BASScamp, a geodesic dome that hosts the festival info desk, lost & found, and an incredible art gallery.

The lost & found and info desk are staffed by Shambassadors, who’ll be happy to answer your questions, help solve issues, take care of lost & found items, and help arrange towing & locksmith services.
 
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Bathrooms

There are banks of port-a-potties throughout the festival grounds. When you arrive, have a look around and find the nearest 2 banks to your camp.

Potties are serviced twice daily, with an on-call night crew. If you see a potty at any time of day or night that needs attention, please report it into the Shambassadors at BASScamp so we can call the Bathroom Crew to service it.

Port-A-Potty Etiquette:
  1. Bring a light at night
  2. Wipe the seat
  3. Sit, don’t hover
  4. Only TP goes in the potty – no other garbage (other materials can clog the pumper truck)
  5. If a potty needs attention, let us know!

*Our port-a-potties are equipped with carbon filters made by local company, Can-Filters, to reduce the smell around the potties.

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Camping Accommodations

Free Early Entry. Express Lane. Free Parking. Mucho Shade. A campsite set-up & ready for your arrival. It’s all yours with our ShambhaLodging Camping Accommodations packages.

Welcome to the tall trees where we have prepared your comfy place to rest and hangout. A weather ready tent assembled – and what else do you need? A storage tent? Linens? Or more? We’ve got four options to choose from! Just pre-order what you want and we’ll have it waiting.

Feeling a bit fancy? Camp in style with FANCY PANTS. It’s just about as deluxe as you’ll find in the forest!

ShambhaLodging: Camping Made Easy

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Disabled Camping

Disabled camping is located near Downtown Shambhala, just North of the Artisan Market. Power access is available for charging motorized wheelchairs or operating other medical devices. 

See Camping & Parking Page for more information.

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Drink Oasis Stalls

Need to rejuvenate en route to the next show or grab a bevvie on your way back to camp?

Stop at a Drink Oasis. We’ve got 5 stalls around the festival site offering various beverages like water, juice, energy drinks and hydrating sports drinks.

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Food Vendors

We have over 18 Food Vendors with all different kinds of cuisine to choose from, and a covered eating area where you can enjoy your meal.

Food Vendor profiles coming June/July 2013

Please Note: There are limited vegan and special diet options. If you have extreme food allergies or special dietary needs, we recommended that you make meal plans that do not rely on the food vendors. Check back in June/July to view menus in advance to determine if there is anything that suits your specific dietary needs.

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Free Water Refill Stations

Locations

  1. The main water refill station is near BASScamp & the gardens in Downtown Shambhala. Our fresh mountain water is filtered, treated and free.
  2. There is a secondary water refill station near the upper bank of Food Vendors, by The Pagoda entrance to Downtown Shambhala.
Water Station Ettiquette

Please don’t attend to personal care (like washing your face or brushing your teeth) at the water stations. These stations are for water collection only! Thanks!

Go Big

Bring a LARGE water container for your camp to refill throughout the weekend. Water cooler type jugs with a pump work great. Worried about lugging gallons of water back to your camp from the water refill station? Have someone in your camp bring a wagon, wheelbarrow or a dolly.

Reduce, Reuse

If you use disposable water bottles, refill ‘em! It’s a great way to save money and reduce waste. Better yet, bring a reusable water bottle (don’t have one? Shambhala water bottles are available at the Beatique in the Artisan Market) or a hydration pack (like CamelPak) – hydration packs are great because one refill will last you hours. Less refills = more dancing!

Stay Hydrated!

Drink lots of water all the time! Dehydration is one of the number one reasons for visits to Shambhala First Aid. Symptoms include headaches, stomach cramps, constipation, vomiting or flu like symptoms. Hydrate regularly to avoid!

Do Not Drink Water From

These water sources are non-potable (not safe to drink). You could get very sick if you drink from them!

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Garbage & Recycling

Garbage & Recycling bins can be found in the food court area, at all stages and at all port-a-potty locations.

Campground Waste Removal:

For campground waste, there are several dumpsters in the Camp Zones that are emptied once daily*.

*Please Note: We do not have garbage removal on Monday at the end of the festival for safety reasons – the onsite traffic is just too heavy to operate the garbage truck that day.

As a result, the dumpsters often end up “overflowing” on Monday. It seems that many people wait until Monday to remove waste from their camp. Please bring your camp’s garbage to the dumpsters periodically throughout the week to help keep the level of waste down on Monday.

Reducing Waste:
What about Composting?

We do compost on a small scale but because the West Kootenays region doesn’t currently have a commercial composting facility, we are unable to offer public composting at this time. We feed kitchen scraps from our staff kitchen & the food vendors to the pigs who live on the farm. We compost scraps only from these areas to so the pigs aren’t eating the vegetable-based cutlery (with pointy bits) or meat – basically, to ensure the health & safety of our animals.

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Ice Sales

Ice sales are available on site, located in the upper bank of food vendors, just outside the Pagoda Stage entrance to Downtown Shambhala. Freezies and large jugs of water are available here, too!
 
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Shambassadors

Shambassadors are Shambhalove, personified.

They share the heart of Shambhala throughout the festival grounds. They’ll be the first people to greet you in the Fairy Lot when you arrive and the last to say goodbye on Monday.

During the festival, Shambassadors can be found at the Info Desk and Lost & Found at BASScamp and roaming the festival grounds offering information and support.

They’re easily spotted by their oversize Shambassador logo (right) buttons and tall, decorated top hats. If you have questions, a problem you need help with or have ideas on how to improve the festival, just chat up a Shambassador – they’re here to listen!

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Showers


Hot showers are available, $5 for 5 min.

Please bring environmentally friendly soap, flip-flops, and a towel. Use a wet nap to wash any body glitter or make-up off before showering – additional debris is hard on the drainage system.

Note: Our daily water usage is limited and we’re not able to run showers 24/7. Shower house operating hours will be posted closer to the festival.

Respect the River

Please do NOT bathe in the river even with biodegradable / “earth friendly” products. If a single person used biodegradable soap in the river, it wouldn’t make much of an impact, but these products aren’t intended to be used by many people in the same area – the concentration of these products can be damaging to fish habitat and wildlife, so please use the Showers only for personal care.

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Towing & Locksmith

Don’t get towed! Pay close attention to where you’re parked. If you park in a fire lane, marked road, Car-Free Zone, or an area that your parking pass is not valid for, your vehicle will be towed. Towing is also available as a service if you’re having vehicle troubles (but we hope that doesn’t happen).

If you lock your keys in your car, locksmith services are available.

In either case, visit the Shambassadors at BASScamp to arrange service.
 
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Wi-Fi & Payphone

Connection to the outside world for those who need it.

Wi-Fi is available through local service provider, Columbia Wireless. Visit their kiosk to charge your phone, use one of their pay-per-use computers, purchase temporary access for your own phone or computer, or make a call from the Skype Payphone.

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ANKORS

ANKORS has been serving the Kootenays for 13 years and have been an important presence at Shambhala for over a decade. They provide free harm reduction supplies, services and information about STI prevention and safe partying.
 
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First Aid

Trained medical volunteers are here to help you with whatever medical needs you may have. Our volunteers are trained professionals: Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics and Level 3 First Aid’ers. There is always at least one doctor on shift. Whether you’ve got a nasty cut that needs stitches, need access to emergency contraceptives or something as simple as a new band aid, we’re here for you.

Medical Services – open 24 hrs

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Options for Sexual Health

Options is Canada’s largest non-profit provider of sexual health services, providing non-judgmental and accurate sexual education. Free condoms + safe sex supplies!
 
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Outreach

The Outreach Team connects with festival guests to share information about safety and harm prevention. Outreach volunteers can be found at the gate of the festival and roaming throughout the grounds. Feel free to ask them for help if you are in need. Look for the purple Outreach shirts.
 
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Sanctuary

The Sanctuary is a calm safe haven nestled in a grove of old growth trees right next to First Aid. The Sanctuary provides non-judgmental service and support and welcomes anyone who feels they need a safe, quiet place to rest at any time during the festival.

If you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, isolated, cold, wet, need to get out of the sun for a while, just need to chill out, or need someone to talk to, our Sanctuary volunteers will be happy to help.

Sanctuary – open 24 hrs

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Security

Security and public safety staff are available at all times. Their goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of all guests. If you see dangerous or suspicious behaviour, find the nearest crew member (anyone with a radio or wearing a yellow “Crew” vest) to report it. They will contact Security immediately.
 
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Women’s Safe Space

Open 24 hours a day, staffed by women, for women. This is a place for any self-identified woman in need of non-judgmental support. It is a safe space away from other festival-goers. Crisis support and post-festival resources are also available here.

Women’s Safe Space – open 24 hrs

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