Hiatus Festival brings large scale festival vibes to the intimate Waldorf Hotel

The Waldorf Hotel has long been known as one of the central hubs for arts and culture in East Vancouver. From their infamous multi-room parties to their themed nights in the tiki bar, The Waldorf is a go-to spot for many looking for a stiff drink and an evening of fun.

See also

• UPDATED: Prozzak to headline Hiatus Music Festival this weekend
• Hiatus Music Festival takes over East Van this summer

Hiatus is a boutique music and lifestyle festival that will be combining everyone’s favourite elements of The Waldorf Hotel and merging them into one amazing evening to remember. Featuring both local and international artists playing experimental live music all night, visual art installations, food trucks, and other surprise interactive experiences, the evening is shaping up to be one to remember.

We got the chance to chat with Ryan Trasolini, co-founder of Hiatus Music Festival and founder of local creative agency Space + Time, about the event and some of the exciting elements that will be incorporated this year.

How did the idea to throw Hiatus Festival first come about?

I’ve always been passionate about innovating culture in Vancouver. Hiatus came about as a festival for young professionals that want more than a pop-up stage and listening to bad 2000s EDM; it was a chance for myself and my partners to engineer a boutique music and lifestyle festival that focuses on the best in experimental live music – both local and international – across a range of genres. It will feature five stages of talent, visual art installations, surprise interactive experiences, food trucks, and an entire hotel takeover right in the heart of our city.

Why did you guys decide to run this event as a single day instead of a multi-day event?

I feel like people get really exhausted from multi-day festivals so we wanted to create an event that condensed the full festival experience. The daytime portion starts at 1 pm and runs until around 10:30 pm, the night time hotel takeover will then follow and wake the entire Waldorf Hotel for one evening only.

Which artist are you personally most excited to see perform at the festival?

For me, it’s definitely Bear Mountain. They have this signature electronic synth sound that I really haven’t seen in any other live act. I’m also very excited to see my friends Dirty Radio play; they have been constantly pushing the fringe for new-age pop and electro music for the better part of five years. It really resinates with me when you hear them play live with their customized Roland keyboard synths.

What element of the festival are you personally most excited for?

For me, it’s the late night hotel takeover. We have a night portion set up for when the main festival is finished outside, we will be powering up the entire hotel for one evening only. There will be five rooms of music including some of the international acts that were playing outside during the day, fashion and art components, our Barney Cools activation, an authentic Polynesian tiki bar, and VIP hotel rooms that you can book for the night and waste your evening away drinking bad whisky and Postmark beer at this Vancouver institution.

Why should anyone want to come to Hiatus Festival?

Hiatus combines a craft food and beer market, a manufactured beach with hammocks and fresh rum coconuts, a Funktion-One powered outdoor super stage, and a complete hotel takeover in the evening to get lost in a summers night. What more could you want in life?

Hiatus Music Festival 2016

When: Saturday, July 23

Where: Waldorf Hotel – 1489 E Hastings Street, Vancouver

Tickets: Use Daily Hive Vancouver friends and family code “hiatusfriends” to get a discount on tickets bought online.