One of my favourite things about summer is the incredible number of concerts and festivals. There’s nothing that says summer quite like standing in the sunshine drinking a cold beer and listening to your favourite artists rock out. Last weekend I headed out to BC for the Squamish Valley Music Festival which offered not only a killer line-up but the most beautiful possible location for a music fest.

Squamish is a small mountain town outside of Vancouver sitting just under the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park; it is arguably one of the most beautiful places in Canada. The sun was shining the entire weekend, beating down on us as a cool breeze came in off the river and we danced to Bruno Mars, Arcade Fire and Eminem. While the headliners were the reason so many people traveled across the country to the festival, the incredible performances weren’t limited to them.

Nico and Vinz started the festival off right as the first act on the main stage Friday afternoon. Having never heard of the Norwegian rappers I wasn’t sure what I’d think of them – but they won me over with their smooth vocals (watch below) and irresistible charm; it’s hard not to love two guys who call themselves, “Afro Vikings.”

One of the things I like most about festivals is the food. Festival food is basically carnival food; mostly terrible for you but ultimately delicious. But because we were so close to Vancouver and their thriving food truck community there were more street food options than there were deep-fried ones. Yay! Until Saturday I’d never even considered that you could get an incredible four-cheese wood fired pizza on site at a festival. But I did and it was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.

While I was waiting for my amazing pizza (I’ve dreamed about it since I got home), I noticed a girl dressed as a pink and purple unicorn, complete with fuzzy purple horn, neon pink hot pants, and white glitter top. What’s most interesting is that this was not the weirdest fashion ensemble on site; apparently at Squamish the festival fashions are less Kate Moss and more Halloween haunt. Throughout the weekend I saw two women dressed as Pikachu (from Pokemon), several people who believed that nipple pasties were an awesome idea at 2pm on a Saturday, and more body paint than I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Now that I’m finally home and done with the festival season, I’m kicking off my chucks in favour of my summer wedges and embracing city life with both arms.

If you checked out the fest in Squamish, what were your favourite acts? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.

Shannon Hunter

Shannon is a twenty-something social media manager and freelance writer living and loving in Toronto. She's written about everything from relationships and dating to events and travel. Happiest when she's writing and within reach of a glass of red; Shan dreams of spending her days writing novels on a beach in Mexico.