What happened in Ottawa when Escapade festival was cancelled

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Sunday was an uncharacteristically busy night in the nation’s capital.

Thousands of people, glitter-clad and ready to rave — but with no festival to attend — flooded the streets of the ByWard Market, Centretown and surrounding neighbourhoods after one of Ottawa’s major music festivals was cancelled.

There were 45,000 attendees expected to see the sold-out festival’s final day, with the Chainsmokers and Armin Van Buuren among the biggest names set to perform.

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The doors for Escapade Music Festival, an electronic dance music fest that has lit up the city (it has had various locations over the years) with strobe lights and drum and bass music since 2010, were slated to open at 1 p.m.

But Ottawa was under a heavy rainfall warning issued by Environment Canada on Sunday, with the forecast calling for 25-50 mm of rain and the possibility of severe thunderstorms.

The doors were finally opened at 3:15 p.m. Then, at about 5 p.m., festival organizers posted on social media that the day’s shows had been cancelled, in entirety.

“Due to unsafe site conditions from heavy rain and pending storm warnings for the rest of the evening, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Day 3 of the festival,” the post read. “The safety of our attendees, artists, and staff is our utmost priority. After careful consideration and consultation with local authorities and meteorologists, we have determined that proceeding with the festival could pose significant safety risks.”

Superstar Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren posted a social media video filmed on a street in the ByWard Market.

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“I hope everybody’s safe, and I feel really bad for all those fans who were looking forward to see the show.”

Van Buuren shouldn’t have worried, though. While rain showers persisted throughout Sunday night, festival-goers took to the ByWard Market in search of a party, with hundreds vying for a spot at 27 Club, where musical acts Subtronics, Tape B and others were playing an impromptu pop-up show.

“It was jumping,” producer and DJ ALLEYCVT said in an interview Monday afternoon.

“Everyone was so excited to be there. I think everyone turned up before the show. The festival was cancelled, so what else can we do? Drink and party.”

ALLEYCVT says she left another music festival early in order to perform at Escapade, and was disappointed with the extreme weather.

“Mother Nature didn’t feel like having a festival.”

27 Club promoted the event as a free pop-up party after the festival was cancelled, “first come first serve with an Escapade wristband,” the York Street club posted on social media, adding that their capacity was 250 people.

ALLEYCVT likened the vibe inside 27 Club to a “proper basement rave,” with a packed, “jumping” crowd and DJs playing their sets off a picnic table.

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“It was very sweaty, that’s one thing I will say,” she said. “It was super hot.”

But, she added, “it ended up being something I’ll remember for a long time.”

The City of Ottawa received 38 noise complaints related to the festival, but didn’t specify if any tickets were handed out, saying, “as investigations remain ongoing, no further information can be released at this time.”

Ottawa police briefly closed Sussex Drive and Dalhousie Street in the market to cars due to the large crowd, but there were no arrests or disturbances.

Deek Labelle is general manager of The Lafayette, a bar across the street from the 27 Club. She said she was surprised there wasn’t more police intervention as the crowd “grew and grew” on Sunday night, likening it to the hustle and bustle of Canada Day.

“There was a big crowd right outside our door, all young people, it was a bit unsafe in terms of traffic,” she said, adding, “our staff are prepared for busy nights, that’s what they do best.”

Ottawa has had a hard time shaking the moniker of “the city that fun forgot,” and even recently hired a “night mayor” to reinvigorate and reimagine the city’s nightlife scene.

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This newspaper sought comment from Mathieu Grondin, who was announced officially as the city’s nightlife commissioner on June 11, but he was not made available for an interview. The city confirmed Grondin attended Escapade on Friday but was not in attendance in the ByWard Market on Sunday due to the weather.

Labelle acknowledged Ottawa has been “called all kinds of things,” but said the city is full of people with diverse interests “that span across the city.”

“I welcome these unique events, opportunities for programming that is inclusive and safe. I want to see more of that, especially down in the ByWard.”

Further afield at the Rideau Curling Club in Centretown, event planners Filet Mignon Gang expanded their after-party to include additional DJ sets.

“By far the hottest, sweatiest show of my life,” Kayzo, a DJ who took the stage around 1 a.m., posted on social media. “Ottawa I love u.”

The Chainsmokers, an American DJ duo and one of the largest acts of the festival, marvelled at the crowd before they played a pop-up set at the Sky Lounge on York Street.

“Sheeet,” The Chainsmokers posted on Instagram around 9 p.m., showing a large lineup outside the lounge down York Street. “We gonna need a bigger clurb.”

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