Pemberton Festival: Gorgeous weather, huge crowd expected at Pemberton tomorrow

Hey, it's Albert from Seattle Gay News blogging live from Vancouver a day before the first-ever Pemberton Festival begins.

I'm at the Opus Hotel, a hotel that Christina Aguilera, R.E.M., J-Lo, Jennifer Garner, Cher, and countless other known artists have stayed at. Located in the Yaletown district of Vancouver, this hotel is the hippest place to stay when visiting this city.

Pre-Pemberton news:

If you've pre-reserved tickets or camping space for the festival, you can pick up your wristband and/or passes tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency (Burrard & Georgia) from 8am to 8pm. You'll need that writstband to access the festival grounds. I'm told 4,000 people were lined up today in Vancouver to get their bracelets. I can only wonder how long the line will be at the festival?

I've met so many people in Vancouver, including some at my hotel, that are headed tomorrow to the festival. Everyone is going to Pemberton!

Also, it appears the shuttle from Whistler to Pemberton is available until 1pm daily, which means if you plan on arriving at the festival late in the afternoon you'll have to drive all the way in. From Pemberton to Whistler, I'm told the last shuttle leaves at 1:30am.

Asides from the last minute pull-out by Brazilian Girls, it appears there are no major worries heading into the first day of the festival.

Remember, you can't bring in any outside alcohol into the event. On-premise food will be available for purchase.

I'm wakng up very early (despite having 3 glasses of wine, 1 beer, 1 mojito at the very new and very popular Cactus Club in downtown Vancouver) to meet other journalists heading up to Whistler for the festival. Seattle Gay News is pleased to call the Sundial Boutique Hotel in Whistler our homebase for the Pemberton Festival, delivering daily blogs and information on the latest news and latest highlights on and off the stage.

Tomorrow's lineup includes Minus the Bear, The Secret Machines, Metric, Wolfmother, Interpol, and headliners Nine Inch Nails. Check back tomorrow for highlights.