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Shake the Lake cancelled in Sylvan Lake

The sport and music festival was planned for the second week in August
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A participant of the BMX competition lands a sick trick on the Twig Barry’s ramp at Shake the Lake two years ago. File Photo

Shake the Lake is a no go in Sylvan Lake this year.

Organizers announced on its Facebook page, the action sport and music festival festival is cancelled due to “circumstances beyond their control.”

“It’s sad news for us, and we know it is sad news for many of our fans, too,” the Facebook post reads.

Mayor Sean McIntyre said with things missing a month out from the festival date, a call had to be made.

“There are a multitude of moving parts in a festival the size of Shake The Lake, and when we reached this week with some key elements yet to be fulfilled and some key circumstances changing, we knew we had to make the call,” said McIntyre.

The post does not say if the Shake the Lake team is calling it quits on the festival, instead they are telling fans to “never say never.”

McIntyre says the group behind the festival is always looking and striving for ways to make Sylvan Lake better, and that won’t stop becasue the festival isn’t being held this year.

“As far as the future is concerned, our group is always thinking of ways to build community. There’s always the chance that new things could be built on the foundations that have been established,” McIntyre said.

He says the festival was only possible becasue of the “amazing group of volunteers and local sponsors and partners.”

Those who have worked behind the scenes, volunteered and sponsored the event in the past were thanked multiple times throughout the post.

“We are thankful for the difference and the impact we made together, and we cherish the relationships that we’ve built along the way,” the post said.

McIntyre says there are hundreds of people who have been working and volunteering their time to see Shake the Lake be a success.

And the festival has grown and changed since its inseption, which McIntyre credits to the hard work of the numerous volunteers.

“An enormous amount of work has been put in to the festival since we started, and I really want to honour and recognize all of our volunteers, and especially our core organizing team, for the thousands and thousands of volunteer hours they have put in to make Shake The Lake successful and fun for so many people,” said McIntyre.