Produced by Live Nation Canada in partnership with Festival creators brand.LIVE Management Group, Virgin Mobile Presents Squamish Valley Music Festival takes place at the Logger Sports Grounds and Centennial Fields in Squamish, British Columbia, 8-10 August 2014.
In its fifth year, the festival will be welcoming its most impressive line up to date with a mix of top international artists and emerging local talent. Over 70 acts will be taking the stage including headliners Bruno Mars, Arcade Fire and Eminem, who will be performing his only festival of the 2014 season.
Each of the expected 35,000 visitors per day will be issued with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wristband, which will be their sole method of access and payment across the festival site. Organisers have enlisted global RFID experts Intellitix, headquartered in Montreal, to deploy its IntelliPay system, the world's first fully-integrated RFID system that combines access control, cashless payment and social media integration. The wristbands have been sent via registered mail and festival goers will need to activate them online pre-event to take full advantage of the benefits.
Intellitix CEO Serge Grimaux explains: "The wristbands can be topped up easily online before the festival and there will also be top up stations across the festival site should people wish to add more funds at any time using these counters instead of doing so via their smartphones. In addition to the faster transaction times, our IntelliPay system eradicates fraud and puts customers' minds at rest that they don't need to worry about carrying around large amounts of cash."
The IntelliPay system also allows for auto-top up, where visitors can set their accounts to add more funds if their balance drops below a certain threshold. Remaining balances will be refunded post-event so guests never have to go through the hassle of waiting in lines and can spend more time enjoying the festival.
This year sees the Festival expand into the Centennial Fields for the first time, increasing its footprint from 32 acres to 81 acres and almost doubling its capacity.
(Jim Evans)
