After riding my bike from Kamloops all the way up to Sun Peaks for the much-hyped “Dirty Birdy on the 12th,” my expectations were sky-high, unlike my blood sugar, which plummeted fast due to the absolute absence of food trucks.
Let me be clear: I didn’t bike 1,200 vertical meters in clipless shoes for a bottle of lukewarm water and a complimentary glow stick. I came for bass, grilled cheese, and bad decisions. What I got was one out of three.
The music? Slapped. DJ Guac delivered a reasonably spicy set, and the 12th hole amphitheater. Yes, a tee box turned bassmusic dancefloor had surprisingly solid acoustics for a one night rave venue. But he never played OOOUUU (you call her Stephanie, I call her heffanie) by Young M.A (Cloonee Edit), which felt like a deliberate personal attack.
Let’s talk logistics:
Food: Nonexistent!!! I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I heard multiple ravers muttering about cheese curds like war veterans. The vibe shifted hard around 2 am when people realized they had to choose between starving, or cannibalism. I chose a third option: rage-coasted back to Kamloops for 7/11 taquitos like a man possessed. I'm still dreaming of the grilled cheese that never was.
•Facilities: A full-on disaster. With bathrooms approximately 1.4 kilometers from the beat drop, the forests along the fairway became a free-for-all. I personally witnessed a guy urinate directly into the cup on the 12th green. Not even mad, it was technically a hole in one.
• Sound system: Decent, but c’mon. If you're gonna throw a full send under the stars, give Guac a Funktion-One stack and let the hole breathe. The DJ deserved better. We all do.
Despite the shortcomings, I’ll probably go again. But please, for the love of rave gods and hungry ravers running on nothing but dicsco biscuits, sort out the darn food trucks!
Just because the venue itself is spectacular doesn’t mean you can skimp on the BASSics.
**Huge shoutout to the onstaff kinesiologist who led a group mobility session just before midnight. That 25 minute dynamic warmup on the d-floor, with everyone groaning through hip openers in mesh tanks was a game changer for marathon raving. My lower back felt reborn.