Queen’s and Western’s student governments unite for a music festival following the cancellation of the annual ORT Mystery Concert.
As recently announced on their Instagram, the AMS is working with Western University’s Undergraduate Student Council (USC) to promote USC PurpleFest to Queen’s students. PurpleFest is an annual two-day music festival put on by USC at the London International Airport. This year, it will be taking place from Sept. 12-13. Its performers will include major artists Noah Kahan, Marshmello, The Strumbellas, and Don Diablo, among others.
Currently, the AMS is advertising an opportunity for Gaels of all years to buy tickets at the same subsidized price offered to Mustangs—$129 for Night One, $89 for Night Two, or $199 for both. While these same prices are being provided to all university and college students across Canada, Western is reserving a certain number of tickets exclusively for Queen’s students. The AMS was unable to disclose the exact amount.
In an interview with The Journal, AMS President Jana Amer discussed why the decision was made to move forward with a joint initiative.
“There was no possible way for us to bring [the Mystery Concert] back and make it happen in a safe way,” she said. “So at least, as almost a temporary fix for the lack of concert this year, we’re trying to make sure that there is some other option that’s available for students.”
She also touched on logistics relating to transport and lodging.
“Right now, students are expected to figure out their own accommodations and transportation,” Amer said. “However, we’re trying to see what we can do to make sure students still get fair pricing when it comes to accommodations and transportation, and hopefully looking into exploring future opportunities about getting a shuttle or two out.”
Amer further clarified that students who wanted to go, but were financially unable, could apply for the AMS Student Experience Bursary to help subsidize the cost. The bursary will open for applications on Sept. 2.
The AMS will also be speaking with the University to see what accommodations can be made for students with Friday classes who are concerned about commuting to London before the 5 p.m. start-time for Night One. Amer made clear, however, that no overarching mandate can be made, and decisions will ultimately come down to the individual professors.
There is also a student-only zone at PurpleFest dubbed “The Stable” that will be accessible to Queen’s students. Amer explained there will be giveaways, games, and added “there’s so much fun that is planned.”
While “The Stable” is a reference to Western’s mascot—the Mustang—Amer claimed there will also be some recognition paid to the Gaels in attendance.
“I’m not going to say it’s not going to be very Western,” she said. “But there will also definitely be an homage towards all the Queen’s students that are there, and we have some fun that’s also planned for them. The Gaels will shine bright.”
Amer clarified that no AMS money was put towards this new option, as they “didn’t want to take financial risk with student dollars if [they] weren’t 100 per cent sure that it was something all of [their] students wanted, and considering the tight turnaround on things, [they] weren’t.”
When asked why the AMS has been unable to pull off an event of PurpleFest’s scale—both this year, and in previous years—Amer pointed to the size of the schools. She claims the USC “gets way more funding from their students” and “has access to more resources” which allows them to bring in larger names.
Still, Amer is hopeful that the AMS can bring “a concert or festival of sorts” to Queen’s in the coming years. She was unable to provide more specifics at this time.
Tags
AMS, orientation, western mustangs
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