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Harrison Festival expands audience capacity amid looser COVID restrictions

Show capacities boosted from 50 to 75 as Festival Society prepares for big week
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”Harrison Festival of the Arts: Farm Edition” runs from July 10 to 18 at the family-run Holberg Farm in Agassiz. (Graphic/Harrison Festival Society)

This year’s Harrison Festival of the Arts just got a bit bigger.

The Harrison Festival Society recently announced the audience capacity will be increased from 50 to 75. With volunteers, crew and bands, there would be about 100 people at any given performance.

This year’s Farm Edition of the festival takes place on Holberg Farm in Agassiz, which is geared toward smaller audiences.

“As we planned the festival starting in the spring, we based it on last summer’s cap of 50, and it’s a little too last-minute now to make any major changes to our plans,” the Festival Society said in a statement on June 30. “Further, we will still be spacing groups out in order to make everyone feel comfortable, and as a result the space will fill up quickly, and push a segment of the audience out of decent sight and sound range if it goes beyond 100.”

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The audience will be spaced out in groups, and those groups do not necessarily have to be from the same household. The Festival Society recently announced ticket holders may now sit with friends or other family members outside their household; the groups must still remain two metres apart.

A number of shows have been sold out and have wait list requests with spots “opening up here and there.” The festival boasts a culturally rich, varied lineup that includes Chinese fusion ensemble Silk Road, Chilliwack’s own Crescent Sky, Celtic swing-grass foursome Early Spirit, Vancouver multi-genre sensation Tonye Aganaba and much more.

Keep up with the latest updates and see samples of upcoming performances at Facebook.com/harrisonfestival.