Chasing Summer 2019

By alantvuong on August 7, 2019

I can’t believe another year has passed and it’s time for another Chasing Summer Music Festival. This year is the 7th consecutive year it is held in Calgary and 4th in a row at Max Bell Festival Grounds. The first 3 years (2013 – 2015) at Fort Calgary, Chasing Summer took place the second weekend of August on Fridays and Saturdays. Then in 2016 it was moved to its current location and the event shifted to the last weekend of July on Saturday and Sunday. It seems to have found it’s permanent date landing on the first weekend of August from 2017 – 2019 continuing on Saturdays and Sundays. This will be my 6th year in a row attending this event and here is my previous post about it. This year’s headliners include The Chainsmokers, Above & Beyond, Steve Aoki, Alesso, Infected Mushroom, Vanic and more.

promo

Getting There

Since there is no parking onsite, the best way to get to the festival is by c-train. The train station is only about a 5 minute stroll to the grounds. It is fun taking the c-train and seeing it full of festival goers and everyone excited about the event. Since the event ends at 11pm, I recommend leaving a few minutes early to take the c-train because it gets way too crowded and packed. There are also taxi and ride share services but that can also get too busy.

leaving the festival a few minutes early to beat the rush to the c-train

Good To Know

This festival does not allow re-entry so once you leave the grounds, you can not re-enter until the following day. I make sure I bring a jacket in my wheelchair bag as I will need it once the sun sets. Medications in a blister pack are allowed as I make sure I have enough throughout the day. I also like to bring a small plastic bag to cover my control box of my powerchair in case of rain. Small amounts of sealed food are also allowed like chips, granola bars etc. With the weather being so warm and having a catheter, I tend to drink a lot of water and am glad empty water bottles are allowed in and that there are free water refill stations located throughout the festival. Taking rest breaks and reclining is also a good idea to prevent pressure sores.

it only rained for a few minutes the first day

Accessibility

Getting in from the c-train station to the entrance of the grounds is a bit steep. There is a small narrow paved pathway surrounded by hilly grass. Since the lines are quite packed, security has always allowed me and my guest to go to the shortest VIP line, but even that is a bit tricky as my powerchair slightly slides every time I try to slowly move forward on the grassy hill. I just pray I don’t tip my chair over.

you can see the hills behind the entrance

Once inside, there is a combination of grass, hills and cement. For the most part, it is quite wheelchair accessible. Since this venue is on a giant parking lot, sometimes I just have to maneuver around cement dividers. Getting over the heavy duty cable covers can be tricky if I don’t come at it at the right speed and angle. There are also some rest spots located on grassy hills which I can’t get to, so I take my rest breaks and tilt back along the fence instead.

mixture of parking lot and grass at Max Bell

Stages

There are 3 stages again this year. The main stage is called Chasing Summer stage, the second one is called Sunrise Stage, while the small one down by the river is called Castle Stage – River Zone. Only the Chasing Summer stage has a raised wheelchair accessible viewing platform. I never bothered taking the long way around down the hill on the paved pathway to Castle Stage because there were no artist playing there that I was interested in. I only alternated between the 2 main stages and never used the wheelchair platform as I wanted to hang around with different groups of friends.

accessible raised viewing platform at main stage only

It was definitely another great year at Chasing Summer. Nothing has really changed about accessibility at Max bell Festival Grounds but I am used to way that things are set up. I really enjoy the music, meeting up with friends and the whole experience and will definitely be back next year.