Shambhala festival draws thousands to southeastern B.C.

A southeastern British Columbia cattle ranch became the scene Saturday of what's believed to be the country's biggest dance party.

About 4,000 people were camped out Friday, with another 6,000 were expected, for the Shambhala Music Festival, whichruns until Monday.

The eventpromoted as a festival that features primarily electronic music was being held at a ranch near Salmo, B.C.

"I don't know anything about Shambhala or electronic music, but I'm going to come away changed. I'm going to see some crazy things happen," said Zan Comerford, who travelledfrom Vancouver, 650 kilometres to the west.

Shambhala has grown from a cozy affair in the Kootenayregion in 2001 to what organizers like to think of as Canada's version of the annual Burning Man Festival in Nevada.

The festival's growth is a marked contrast to other financially challenged annual music events in the province, such as those in Merritt and Pemberton.

The event features dozens of performers and six stages, with music and dance performances often happening simultaneously at all venues.

"We had a burlesque show. There's so much more than music, though the centre is around art and music," said festival producer Corrine Zawaduk.