03/26/2026
Hi Pure Imagination Fam 🤍
Candace here.
As the founder/creator of Pure Imagination Festival, I always want you to know there is a real human behind this event —working hard just like you do—trying to bring a little more joy, connection, and kindness into the world through live music and art.
This is a message I’ve been putting off writing,
because honestly…I wish I were writing something different.
So let’s get to it.
We’ve made the difficult decision to pause
Pure Imagination Festival for 2026.
That means we will NOT be gathering at Watson Lake this May - and trust me when I say this decision was not made lightly.
Our simple idea—to bring people back together through a shared love of live music and wonder, in a beautiful place, at a time when the world felt deeply divided post-Covid (and in many ways still does) —grew into something far more meaningful and powerful than I ever imagined. Because of you, we created something truly special— for our community and for guests who traveled from near and far.
Over the past few years, the landscape of live music and festivals has shifted dramatically. The cost of artists, production, insurance, and infrastructure has risen at a pace that has made it increasingly difficult for independent festivals like ours to keep up sustainably while preserving the experience — staying true to the intimate, boutique size that makes Pure Imagination what it is.
To offer a brief glimpse: various nationally touring headliners we looked at in 2022 have more than doubled—or even tripled in cost just a couple of years later. Many artists we’d LOVE to host—and we KNOW you’d love to see—now fall outside what makes sense for a boutique festival like ours, without passing those rising costs on to you or compromising the intimate experience that makes Pure Imagination so uniquely special.
The live event landscape has simply shifted for a myriad of broader reasons. So instead of pushing a rock up the mountain trying to keep pace, we’re choosing to pause…
to reset, reimagine, and build something even better.
This is NOT the end of Pure Imagination. It’s a pause. We are already planning and actively building toward 2027. Huzzah!
To our dear community, our artists, our sponsors (we always welcome more), and everyone who has shown up for this festival, THANK YOU.
To my AMAZING small but very dedicated hardworking team, THANK YOU.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Together, we’ve created something full of joy, connection, and a little bit of wonder and magic.
Pure Imagination Festival will miss you this May.
I will miss seeing you, singing with you, dancing with you in the park.
But we’ll see you in 2027.
And when we do… it’s going to be something truly exciting. ✨
Until soon,
Candace Devine - Pure Imagination Festival
