WE MAKE THIS SPACE SAFER TOGETHER.

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About

Ripple Effect is Music PEI’s safer spaces initiative, working to reduce sexual and gender-based violence in live music and cultural spaces through prevention, education, harm reduction, and community support.

Developed in partnership with Stacey Forrester and Good Night Out Vancouver, Ripple Effect helps create safer environments for artists, audiences, volunteers, and industry professionals across Prince Edward Island. Our work includes safer spaces training, bystander intervention education, policy and resource development, consultation services, and on-site support at festivals and events.

Ripple Effect has supported the development of Music PEI’s Safer Spaces Policy and Code of Conduct resources, including our Code of Conduct poster now used at Music PEI events and shared with community partners. We have also created practical resources for musicians and organizers, including the Safer Scenes: A Protective Spaces Toolkit for Musicians.

Through partnerships with major PEI festivals, Ripple Effect provides on-site safer spaces teams and support tents at events such as Cavendish Beach Music Festival and Sommo Festival, offering harm reduction resources, peer support, and a welcoming space for attendees. The initiative has also piloted a community Street Team model in Charlottetown, expanding safer spaces support beyond festival grounds and into the broader live music ecosystem.


If you’re interested in booking Ripple Effect Services or would like more information, check out our Initiatives.

Initiatives
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Mission Statement

Ripple Effect champions equitable access to the Island's music scene for everyone—performers, industry professionals, and audience members alike. Everyone deserves to feel safe in the music scene, but not everyone currently does. We are dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive spaces that empower individuals and foster a vibrant, diverse music community.

Values

The intersections of the Ripple Effect

  • Representing individuals who have personal insight into the effects of sexual and gender-based violence, which often makes them uniquely equipped to guide change through empathy and understanding.

  • Encompassing the academic, data-driven, and researched best practices around preventing violence and fostering safer spaces. This might include methodologies, historical insights, and global examples of successful practices.

  • Reflecting those who, through either professional training or lived experience, have developed specialized skills to lead or facilitate safer space practices. These leaders may guide others, advocate for policy, or support training and capacity-building efforts.

  • A collaborative approach where the voices and experiences of all are valued and put into practice. Ripple Effect builds on both individual contributions and the wider support of the community and established organizations.

Our Partners

White text on a black background that reads, "good night out."
Logo of the PEI Rape and Sexual Assault Centre with a stylized leaf and plant design.
Logo featuring a musical note inside a circle, next to the words 'MUSIC PEI' in bold
Logo with the word RISE above a compass symbol. Below, text reads: Support for victims of sexual or intimate partner violence and workplace sexual harassment.

    • Training with Good Night Out Vancouver

    • Creating Code of Conduct for Music PEI

    • Hosted member focus groups around Safer Spaces Policy creation

    • Bystander Intervention Training with PEI Industry Professionals, Musicians and Organizations

    • Safer Spaces Panel Discussion for Music New Brunswick

    • Safer Spaces Strategies and Resource Development for Musicians 

    • Workshops and Consultation in Atlantic Canada

Community Stakeholders & Workshop Attendees

Funders

Interministerial Women's Secretariat
The Gender Equity Diversity & Inclusion Community Enhancement Program (GEDI)
Canada Council For The Arts

Logo for Prince Edward Island, Canada with text and a tree graphic.
A man is playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in a dimly lit room with a TV screen in front of him.

Our Team

Andrew stands with arms crossed on a black background.
Dylan standing in front of a tower of retro stereos and radios with a blue and orange tint.
Sits near a sunlit window, accompanied by a thriving fiddle-leaf fig plant. They wear a black cardigan adorned with woolly white flowers and green leaves, paired with classic aviator glasses. Their strong, friendly smile is warm and inviting.

  • Andy (they/them)
    Co-Founder, MPEI Executive Director

    Andy (they/them) serves as the Executive Director for Music PEI, dedicated to supporting the Island’s music scene. Advocacy is at the heart of everything they do and is woven through their work developing initiatives to support Music PEI’s membership.

    When Andy isn’t at a live show, or busy organizing, curating, and volunteering, you can often find them at home. They love cooking, playing video games, reading, and watching a healthy mix of high-brow films and trash TV (balance is key) with their partner Hannah and their two cats, Simone and Judy!

  • Dylan Menzie (he/him)
    MPEI Programs Manager

    Born and raised on PEI – Dylan is a board game loving, disc golfing, songwriter and arts administrator with over 14 years of experience.

    As a songwriter – he’s written ECMA, MPEI & SOCAN Award winning songs, toured Canada, the UK, Australia, and the USA. As an arts administrator – he’s worked on the creation and execution of export development programs, events and conferences with FMO, the ECMAs, and Music PEI.

  • Andrew (he/him)
    Ripple Effect Coordinator

    Andrew Cormier is a local show promoter & musician hailing from the local punk scene on PEI. Andrew has been working hard over the last few years to help restore the local all ages scene, to create safe spaces for youth, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, women - while fostering community.