Boonstock festival announces it’s not coming back to Penticton, B.C.

The festival was held in Gibbons, Alta., for nine years before it was banned and moved to Penticton, where it faced a string of hardships including the death of a 23-year-old attendee. Facebook photo.

PENTICTON, B.C.—The troubled Boonstock Music and Arts Festival will not be returning to Penticton, B.C., in 2015.

Boonstock Productions Inc. made the announcement on social media, but organizers haven’t said whether it will be moved elsewhere.

The four-day festival was held on the Penticton Indian Reserve last year and featured the performances by American rapper Macklemore and musician and DJ Ryan Lewis.

The festival was held in Gibbons, Alta., for nine years before it was banned and moved to Penticton, where it faced a string of hardships including the death of a 23-year-old attendee.

Boonstock president and founder Colin Kobza, who was unsuccessful in finding a financial partner for the operation over the winter, could not be reached for comment.

Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger says he has mixed feelings on the event, which he says brought more people to the reserve than he has ever seen.

“There were problems and regrettably the bad part was a young lady lost her life,” he says.