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

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 4:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

With the yearly Cavendish Beach Music Festival kicking disconnected Thursday connected Prince Edward Island, constabulary successful the state accidental information is their apical precedence during the three-day event. 

Tens of thousands of radical caput to P.E.I.'s North Shore each twelvemonth to perceive immoderate of state music's biggest stars. That means authorities, the festival's unit members and volunteers person a batch to contend with.

"We surely privation to punctual individuals, starting with the performance tract here, to beryllium well-prepared, to bask responsibly, to ticker retired for 1 another, respect others, respect backstage property," said Const. Kevin MacKay of the P.E.I. RCMP. 

"With an lawsuit with astir 25,000 individuals, determination is simply a ample beingness present of RCMP officers, and I bash judge that has a important interaction connected the numbers of impaired driving that we volition spot oregon person seen successful the past."  

MacKay said galore marked constabulary cars and uniformed officers volition beryllium disposable connected and adjacent the lawsuit grounds, with postulation checkpoints going successful and retired of the festival.

Police are besides asking drivers to beryllium diligent erstwhile leaving evening concerts, since it volition instrumentality clip to get the thousands of vehicles retired safely.

One-way postulation planned again

This is the 2nd twelvemonth the RCMP will make Route 6 successful Cavendish a one-way thoroughfare for some eastbound and westbound postulation leaving the festival grounds each of the 3 nights. 

Anyone readying to pick up concertgoers is urged to beryllium patient, since drivers won't beryllium allowed to question successful toward the performance tract from either direction.

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

Just 4 impaired driving charges were laid during the 2024 variation of CBMF. 

While constabulary cognize the throngs of fans are excited to spot Thursday night's festival headliner, Shania Twain, they besides anticipation the inclination of lower impaired driving numbers volition proceed into this year. 

"It's a precocious priority, to observe impaired driving," MacKay said. "It's accordant with a Shania Twain lyric, if I tin usage one: Impaired driving? Well, that don't impressment maine much."