Residents of northern Vancouver Island have taken to social media to protest an event called the World Rainbow Gathering taking place at Raft Cove Provincial Park until September 6.

Locals are concerned the event, to which more than 11,000 people are invited, and more than 1,800 have said they will attend so far, will destroy the area and leave a huge mess behind.

A protest page has been set up on Facebook for people to express their concerns about the gathering.

Port McNeill resident and local councillor, Gaby Wickstrom, is one of the people who started the awareness campaign for local residents, and says she only became aware of the event herself a few days ago.

She is concerned Raft Cove cannot accomodate such a large volume of people.

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“If there are even 500 people that attend this event, Raft Cove cannot support it. It’s a delicate ecosystem,” she says.

She fears there is not enough space, not enough water, and not enough facilities with only two toilets on site.

“We have wolves that have recently returned to the area and if those people come, those wolves will disappear,” she says.

Wickstrom says she has never seen such a large response from the surrounding communities to an event such as this one.

“We love this beach, everyone understands how sensitive this area is,” she says.

She wants the word to get out that this is not the right area for this type of gathering. “We don’t anticipate it to be anything volatile, but we just want to let people know this is not the place for them.”

The World Rainbow Gathering event did have a Facebook page, which was made private sometime on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, as Wickstrom says people were starting to leave messages telling attendees not to come.

Global News has reached out to the Global Rainbow Gatherings of the Tribes on their Facebook page, but have not received a response at this time. Originally the event was going to be held in the Meadow Creek area of Nelson, but due to a fire ban, wildfires, and local opposition, the event was moved to Raft Cove.

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A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, which oversees the park, says they did not know about the event until notices started circulating on social media. “Event organizers did not contact BC Parks regarding hosting this event in Rath Cove Provincial Park,” they said in a statement.

Staff members were in the park on Wednesday assessing the situation, and the Ministry says “as with large, unscheduled events in BC Parks, we will be developing a compliance and enforcement plan to ensure the safety of visitors and protection of park values – including coordinating with other enforcement agencies.”

“Our primary concerns are to ensure public health and safety as well as protect the natural environment and uphold the ecological and cultural park values in Raft Cove Park,” the Ministry adds. They are continuing to monitor the situation, including conducting on-site assessments, and are aware of the concerns expressed by the public. They are also working with enforcement agencies, local government and First Nations.

“BC Parks is currently exploring all options to ensure concerns are addressed, up to and including closing the park,” says the Ministry. Compliance and enforcement efforts are already underway.

The Port Hardy Visitor Centre has issued an advisory for locals and tourists about the difficulty in getting to Raft Cove.

“Especially with active logging and road building out there, we’re just concerned for locals and tourists,” a spokesperson says.

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To get to Raft Cove, people have to drive to Holberg on a gravel road, and then take a logging road to the park. “It’s not a paved road, it’s not a two-lane highway,” says the visitor centre.

They are also concerned there are not enough resources for that many visitors, as there has been no rain in weeks, and a fire ban is in effect.

Port Hardy Mayor Bev Parnham calls this event “a setting for disaster.”

She is hoping the public pressure on BC Parks will force them to put a plan in place, whether that is moving the event, or simply cutting off access to the park when it is full.

“The capacity is probably in the neighbourhood of 30 people,” Parnham says.

“It could end up destroying, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth.”

There have been gatherings called Rainbow Gatherings since the early 1970’s.

According to their website, “the gatherings are called rainbow because they are for all the peoples of the earth, from many families, tribes, and nations.” They are a chance for people to come together who share the same ideals of community and lifestyle.

They have no leaders and no head office, but arrange gatherings all over the world.

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