SUNFEST COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL MEDIA KIT

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1 SUNFEST COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL MEDIA KIT

2 VISION VISION STATEMENT Sunfest strives to be the safest, most customer focused and successful country music festival in Western Canada. MISSION STATEMENT Our goal is to bring the community of Vancouver Island world-class country entertainment at an affordable price, while providing for our guests the best family-friendly festival experience through unparalleled customer service, attention to detail and the utmost care for patron safety and security; creating positive memories to last a lifetime.

3 THE HISTORY OF SUNFEST Sunfest aims to bring the biggest names in country entertainment to the Cowichan Valley, as well as provide showcase opportunities for up-and-coming local artists. Sunfest has been operating in the Cowichan Valley for 16 years, and in 2016, the event moved to its permanent home at Laketown Ranch, located 5km from the Town of Lake Cowichan. Our roots in the community of the Cowichan Valley are strong, with early beginnings as a two-day rock concert showcasing Canadian performers. Several years later, Sunfest is now providing world class entertainment and provides economic benefits to social programs, healthcare, education and the local economy. We are proud to boast both a strong Vancouver Island fan base as well as attendance from festival goers coming from as far as the east coast of Canada, throughout the USA and overseas. Sunfest is more than just a concert; it s an annual vacation destination. In 2016, Sunfest hosted Vancouver Island s largest outdoor crowd in history and the event expects to open its gates to more than 50,000 people in 2017.

4 HEADLINERS TOBY KEITH (2017) In June 2015, Toby was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City, and he has been honoured by the Nashville Songwriters Association International with it s Songwriter/Artist of the Decade distinction, is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year and was named the American Country Awards' Artist of the Decade. His albums have sold more than 40 million copies, ranking him among the top-selling all-genre artists on Billboard's Top 200 Artists of the Decade. Keith is also Billboard's No. 1 Country Artist of the Decade and No. 1 Country Songwriter of the Decade. LITTLE BIG TOWN (2017) In the last five years, Little Big Town has been nominated for 35 awards, and have been decorated with 20, including the CMA for Vocal Group of the Year, Song of the Year and Single of the Year for Girl Crush." At the 2016 Grammy Awards, Little Big Town won Best Country Group/Duo Performance, and Girl Crush received the honour for best Best Country Song. The group was also honoured as the 2016 Music Business Association Artist of the Year. CARRIE UNDERWOOD (2016) Carrie Underwood is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol in She has since become one of the most successful artists in any musical genre. Her achievements led her to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in She has won numerous music awards, including seven Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music Awards and nine American Music Awards. KEITH URBAN (2015) In September 2013, Urban released his seventh studio album FUSE. His fourth #1 album marked the first time that a male country artist has debuted atop the all-genre charts in the United States, Canada and Australia. The album's first single, "Little Bit of Everything" took the top spot on the Country Singles Chart, as did "We Were Us," featuring Miranda Lambert, which gave Urban a streak of five consecutive #1 songs. TIM MCGRAW (2014) In his record-shattering career, Tim McGraw has sold over 40 million albums, and dominated the charts with 32 #1 singles. Since the release of his debut album in 1993, he has won three Grammys, 14 Country Music Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, and 10 American Music Awards. ALAN JACKSON (2013) Throughout the course of his career, Alan Jackson has been honoured with over 45 awards from organizations like the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and the Country Music Association (CMA). He released his Greatest Hits Album in 1995 and won eight major awards, including CMA Entertainer of the Year.

5 REACH ECONOMIC IMPACT The estimated indirect economic impact of Sunfest Country Music Festival is evaluated at four million dollars per annum, while the direct economic impact is valued at just over 1.5 million dollars annually. The Cowichan Valley and greater Vancouver Island has benefited from Sunfest for over 15 years, through way of hotels, fuel, food, transportation, rentals, tourism, retail, advertising and supplies. Sunfest provides direct year round employment to members of our community as well as part-time employment to over 250 staff during the festival. Sunfest requires approximately 350 volunteers over the course of the event and we could truly not exist without our loyal and dedicated volunteer team, who are linked to over 40 groups, societies, teams and clubs, many of whom have benefitted from fundraising opportunities facilitated by Sunfest. In addition to the over $750,000 in committed donations to date, the festival provides social, economic, cultural and agricultural economic support through the Sunfest Benevolence Fund, offering goodwill and tangible benefit to businesses and nonprofit groups in our community.

6 GIVES BACK Giving back to the community is part of our mandate, and will continue to be a strong measure of the success of Sunfest Country Music Festival. We have raised over $750,000, benefiting vital organizations in our community including: the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division, MS Society, Canadian Diabetes Association, Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Rotary Club of Duncan, Duncan Chamber of Commerce and nearly twenty elementary, middle and high schools in the area. This annual event contributes to the economic, social, cultural and agricultural growth of the Cowichan Valley, having infused over 5 million dollars into local business through direct and indirect investment and employment opportunities since our inception. Our legacy of community alliance spans over a decade, supporting and leveraging tangible benefits to nearly 50 charities, non-profits, schools, community partners and causes. An additional benefit of Sunfest has been the opportunity that is provided to local and regional artists. Sunfest is proud to showcase young artists who gain experience performing on the same stage as world class entertainers in their own backyard. Together, we are positively shaping the community of the Cowichan Valley, and that's something we can all stand behind. RECENT BENEFACTORS BC Cancer Agency Juvenile Diabetes - Gala Fundraiser Duncan Christian School Ecole Cobble Hill Lake Cowichan - Lake Days Cowichan Hospice Society Queen Margaret's School Cowichan District Hospital Foundation Queen of Angels School Duncan Jr. Baseball Quamichan Middle school Steve Jackson Fundraiser (Cystic Fibrosis) TJ's Friends (Subsidiary of the TJ Martell Foundation) MS Society VI Paddling Society Cowichan Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters Cops for Cancer - Tour de Rock MS Society Cowichan Exhibition Society Cowichan Symphony Society CV Ol' Hustlers Hockey Tanelle's Journey - Fundraiser Cowichan Secondary School Dry Grad Ecole Cobble Hill Bench Elementary Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey Bantam C3 Cowichan District Hospital Emergency Dept. Belmont Secondary Claremont Secondary Lacrosse Team

7 STATS Greater Vancouver, 7% Customer Location Courtenay- North Island, 9% ,000 Annual Attendance , , ,500 Victoria, 44% Visitor Demographic Duncan, 18% Female 53% Male 47% Nanaimo, 22% Visitor Age Distribution 13-17, 2% 55+, 15% 18-24, 14% Customer Household Income 40% 35% 34% 30% 25% 20% 15% 24% 23% 13% 45-54, 24% 25-34, 23% 10% 5% 6% 0% 35-44, 22%

8 LAKETOWN RANCH LAKETOWN RANCH In 2016, Sunfest Country Music Festival moved from our previous festival site at the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds to Laketown Ranch, located 5km from the town of Lake Cowichan. It took a lot of hard work from a dedicated team to not only construct the facility in just over 7 months, but to relocate the event to its permanent home. In 2016, we welcomed over 50,000 attendees through our gates at the brand new facility, boasting Vancouver Island s largest outdoor concert attendance in history, and hosted the first ever event at Laketown Ranch. What You Need To Know About Laketown Ranch: Canada s largest permanent outdoor festival site 172-acre modern, multi use entertainment complex located in the heart of the Cowichan Valley Scalable to any event. Capacity ranges 3,000-6,000-20,000 Canada s largest outdoor stage with natural amphitheatre Large RV and campground facility Permanent infrastructure including wifi, roadways, plumbing, electrical, side-stages, ticketing and box office buildings, trails

9 WHAT OUR BENEFACTORS ARE SAYING ABOUT US BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF THE COWICHAN VALLEY Receiving funds from SUNFEST has been fantastic support to our Mentor Programs. In 2016 over 100 children have been provided a positive mentor, it is from donations such as SUNFEST that help our organization increase the number of children served. Mentors make a difference, SUNFEST makes a difference. - Erin Generous, Executive Director COWICHAN SYMPHONY SOCIETY The Cowichan Symphony Society (CSS) has continuously been presenting professionally-played classical music to the Valley community for sixty one years. The success of this has been made possible only by the generous support of the donating public. Over the past three years, Sunfest Benevolence Fund has been a magnificent beneficiary supporter of CSS. This is a wonderful example of how an organization founded firstly to present country music has touched the whole spectrum of music and culture of the valley. CSS looks to the future to work together with Sunfest and hopes some day soon to put a major Symphony Orchestra on the magnificent stage created by Sunfest at Cowichan Lake." - Red Rhodes COWICHAN EXHIBITION SOCIETY "The Donations received from the Sunfest Benevolence Fund has enabled the Cowichan Exhibition to improve the condition of the grounds, plant trees, and further our commitment to agriculture in the community. Sunfest continues to put the Cowichan Valley on the map with fans from all over the continent. It is exciting to have an event of this magnitude in our back yard. Thank you Sunfest!" - Shari Paterson CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY, BC AND YUKON DIVISION The Canadian Cancer Society was thrilled to be chosen as the Sunfest charity of choice in 2016 and for the opportunity to run a for a 50/50 fundraiser throughout the four day weekend concert. Our efforts for the weekend brought in over $12,000. The inaugural year of collaborating is the beginning of a great partnership. The Society was extremely pleased with the venue, how the executed and the respect shown to the surrounding community and it s residents. The majority of our volunteers are from the Cowichan Valley and are eager to participate again. Looking forward to great things moving forward. Thank you Sunfest! - Tracie Clayton