Dear Editor,

There is summer event in Bryson that has no sign of letting up. It attracts hundreds of people and they come from elsewhere. Our first sign of the event was . . .

waking up to what sounded like a car parked in front of our house with his bass speakers on full volume. The problem is there’s no car and it never stops for three days and nights. And, because it has no recognizable rhythm, just sounds like an erratic jacked up heartbeat, noise cancelling headphones can’t seem to block it out as there is no repetition which can be identified and silenced. I’ve gone down to the basement and found it still strong even with all windows shut on these hot July nights.

My first encounter was in 2013 when I was still commuting to work in the city. I was unable to rest the whole weekend and my work week was shattered. My husband who normally sleeps through anything, had woken up and was wandering the streets trying to locate the origin. He tracked it to the hillside above the town where a rave was taking place. It was 5 a.m. and in full swing and the police were present. He asked them what was going on and they explained that they were there because a bouncer had been attacked but we couldn’t complain because the operators had a permit, issued by the next municipality. A town council meeting was attended by the owners who defended that it wasn’t a rave, which by definition described perfectly this automated music event, but the operators agreed to face their speakers in a different direction so that it wouldn’t ricochet off the hills and into our little town.

So from year to year, we get varying effects of noise depending on where we live. For the last two years it’s been heading back into the main downtown part where the seniors building and mostly retired folks are living.

I was in the town office when another resident came in to complain about the noise as he lives directly across the street from the event. He told the mayor that the police had told him that we must get all the residents who are affected by this to complain to the Litchfield municipality as the majority of the property is in their jurisdiction. However, we issue parking permits for our section, and since this is essential for the people who come from afar, we can use this as a bargaining card. It’s just a matter of getting all the downtown folks to agree to do something about it.

Many are away in their RVs for festivals elsewhere (in the country away from towns), some aren’t bothered because their hearing is poor, but for the majority of us, sleep is ruined for the whole period. This year we have had three events so far, and it’s just the first weekend in August. We don’t know how many more are planned or who these people are. Someone is making big money and not paying for any of the effects in our community. Can’t we at least get together to agree on a curfew?

Cathy Fox Welsh

Bryson, Que.