Safety is top of mind for police as tens of thousands descend on P.E.I. for CBMF weekend

With the annual Cavendish Beach Music Festival kicking off Thursday on Prince Edward Island, police in the province say safety is their top priority during the three-day event. 

Tens of thousands of people head to P.E.I.'s North Shore each year to hear some of country music's biggest stars. That means authorities, the festival's crew members and volunteers have a lot to contend with.

"We certainly want to remind individuals, starting with the concert site here, to be well-prepared, to enjoy responsibly, to watch out for one another, respect others, respect private property," said Const. Kevin MacKay of the P.E.I. RCMP. 

"With an event with approximately 25,000 individuals, there is a large presence here of RCMP officers, and I do believe that has a significant impact on the numbers of impaired driving that we will see or have seen in the past."  

MacKay said many marked police cars and uniformed officers will be visible on and near the event grounds, with traffic checkpoints going in and out of the festival.

Police are also asking drivers to be patient when leaving evening concerts, since it will take time to get the thousands of vehicles out safely.

One-way traffic planned again

This is the second year the RCMP will make Route 6 in Cavendish a one-way street for both east and westbound traffic leaving the festival grounds each of the three nights. 

Anyone planning to pick up concertgoers is urged to be patient, since drivers won't be allowed to travel in toward the concert site from either direction.

Last year's festival saw 230 calls to police that resulted in 150 tickets being issued for incidents ranging from traffic infractions to open-liquor offences, MacKay said. 

Just four impaired driving charges were laid during the 2024 edition of CBMF. 

While police know the throngs of fans are excited to see Thursday night's festival headliner, Shania Twain, they also hope the trend of lower impaired driving numbers will continue into this year. 

"It's a high priority, to detect impaired driving," MacKay said. "It's consistent with a Shania Twain lyric, if I can use one: Impaired driving? Well, that don't impress me much."