More than 600 tickets, some driving bans issued as drivers attend B.C. music festival

SALMO – Police say officers handed out more than 600 tickets, including 78 for drug-impaired driving, to people who attended a music festival in British Columbia’s Kootenay region. 

The BC Highway Patrol says in a release that more than 50,000 people attended the Shambhala Music Festival near Salmo, in southeastern B.C., and police conducted targeted enforcement before and after the event.

Police handed out 601 tickets before the festival, more than half of them for speeding, while post-festival roadblocks led to more than 50 driving bans due to drug impairment.

Police say 57 vehicles were impounded for both driver impairment and mechanical safety issues. 

BC Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael McLaughlin says in a statement that police notified festival attendees to “make sure they allowed drugs to clear their system” before leaving, but the large number of violations means officers will likely return in force for next year’s event.

McLaughlin says police also found 11 drivers who were without insurance, which he calls “concerning” when combined with the speeding violations.

“It shows a level of irresponsible decision-making, and we’d like to see safer behaviour on the roads that we all share,” he says.

This year’s festival took place from July 24 to 27 at the Salmo River Ranch. It is the 27th annual event.

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Salmo is located about 650 kilometres east of Vancouver and about 25 kilometres from the Canada-U.S. border. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.