The promoter of a concert proposed for July 2025 in the Municipality of Grey Highlands is searching for a new venue after the farmland where the event was supposed to take place was sold.
Johny Mikhael, CEO of iRadios Inc., confirmed that his proposed Lit Galaxy Festival that was proposed to be held over the 2025 Canada weekend on a Duncan area property has to find a new location. The property initially proposed as the venue has since been sold.
“I want to clarify that we are still fully committed to hosting the electronic music festival. Unfortunately, the land we were working on was sold to another party before we could finalize our deal,” Mikhael said in an email response to questions from CollingwoodToday.
Mikhael said is currently examining other options nearby as potential concert venues.
“We are actively looking for new options in the same area and have a couple of promising leads that we’re currently exploring,” he said.
The festival was proposed to be held on a 150-acre rural property in Grey Highlands not far from Duncan on the Grey Highlands/The Blue Mountains townline. Promoters of the concert said it would attract up to 25,000 people and would feature multiple bands on multiple stages, food and merchandise vendors and other events and activities.
Neighbouring property owners expressed serious concerns about the area’s ability to host the concert and made delegations to both Grey Highlands and The Blue Mountains council about the issue.
Neighbours expressed serious reservations that the host site of the proposed concert was too small and not capable of accommodating the number of people attending, many of whom would be camping out during the course of the event. They also expressed concerns about how local roads would handle traffic, where concert attendees would park and the impact the event would have on emergency and other services.
Grey Highlands staff confirmed that an application for a permit for the event that had been submitted to the municipality by the concert promoters has been withdrawn.
“I have confirmed with staff that the organizer has withdrawn their application with Grey Highlands,” CAO Karen Govan said in an email.
Mikhael said the promoters are focused on ensuring the entire area reaps the benefits from the show and said he would keep local residents up-to-date of the plans for the event.
“Our primary focus is on the safety and happiness of the entire community. We want to make sure that all neighbours and neighbourhoods benefit from the festival, which brings millions of dollars to the local economy,” he said. “We believe in keeping everyone informed and involved as we move forward.”
