Thousands head to Laketown Ranch as Sunfest gets underway

The 2023 Sunfest Country Music Festival, held at Laketown Ranch near Lake Cowichan, is headlined by Blake Shelton.

In the campground of Laketown Ranch near the town of Lake Cowichan, anticipation is building for Vancouver Island’s largest music festival.

Two early birds – both named Tiffany – are taking it all in under the shade of their trailer's awning before the Sunfest Country Music Festival begins.

“We did some early entry so we could get up front,” said Tiffany Lang.

“I’m very excited,” said Tiffany Shields.

Thursday night is the official kick-off party.

“Tonight we have Jade Eagleson on our Lake Night Stage,” said Mike Hann, festival director of Laketown Ranch.

“We have Lainey Wilson headlining tomorrow night,” added Hann. “Then Saturday it’s Bill Currington and then the big show on Sunday.”

The big show being Blake Shelton.

More than 10,000 tickets have already been sold and some are still available. If you’re hoping to score a campsite, you are out of luck.

“So you’ll have to find space elsewhere or shuttle back in forth from the Cowichan Valley,” said Hann.

In the neighbouring town of Lake Cowichan, Jakes At The Lake has staffed up in anticipation of a busy weekend.

"The town comes alive,” said Wade Gamble, the restaurant's general manager. “You see it in the streets – you see everything is bustling, everything is moving, and it’s really fun.”

Anyone hoping to go tubing down the Cowichan River might also want to consider bringing their own inner tube. Jillian Longbottom, manager of The Tube Shack, is expecting reservations to be booked solid.

“We’re expecting that it’s going to be super busy,” said Longbottom. “Especially with people kind of waiting for the concerts … they are looking for something to do in town so the restaurants get busier, the shops, us.”

Expectations are high in the lakeside town as thousands pour into the community to see some of the biggest country acts around.

“I’m going to say I’m excited to see Lainey Wilson,” said Lang.

“The highlight will be Lonestar and Bill Currington,” said Shields.

And of course there's Shelton, who will close out the festival Sunday night, sending thousands of country music fans home with a weekend to remember.