Feedback on the Burnaby Blues and Roots festival

Well done to the City of Burnaby for an excellent Blues and Roots festival this year. The performances were excellent, the weather was perfect and audience was well behaved.

However, I was considerably disappointed to see the corporate logos of Chevron and Telus adorning the sides of the main stage.

As the largest polluters of Burrard Inlet, Chevron do not need to be rewarded by having their corporate logo associated with such fine music. Likewise Telus' current labour dispute of locking out workers and potentially shipping Burnaby jobs offshore, should also not be rewarded.

I also found it offensive to see small children walking around Deer Lake with Gateway Casino balloons and decks of playing cards.

Whilst I enjoyed the performers immensely, much better than last year; the increased corporate presence was a reason NOT to go to the event next year, regardless of the performers.

I strongly suggest the organisers take a look at the Under the Volcano festival in North Vancouver to see how the real community can put on an event. Otherwise the Burnaby Blues and Roots festival is in severe danger of becoming an overly corporatised event; which is a contradiction of what blues and roots are supposed to be about.

Instead of large multinational corporations, invite non-profit community groups to attend, this would fit more with the messages sent from centre stage.