Bluegrass music fans will have to wait until at least 2015 for the next edition of the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival.

The Yukon Bluegrass Music Society announced Wednesday afternoon there will not be a festival next year.

"It was extremely difficult,” society president Robbyn Chiles said in an interview this morning.

The group, she said, had been "agonizing” for a long time over whether to take a year off.

Really, for the past 2 1/2 to three years, there's been a question of whether the festival should take a year off.

It's something Chiles said organizers kept postponing, but now she is confident it's for the best.

The festival is experiencing "many of the same challenges faced by other Yukon non-profit groups and festivals.”

Those include "balancing revenues with expenditures, maintaining interest and energy throughout the year, and attending to the many administrative duties associated with running a festival and a non-profit society,” officials said in a statement.

To continue to offer a high-quality music festival, the group will spend the next year developing a long-term sustainability plan for the event.

Funding of $35,000 from the territory's Community Development Fund is going toward hiring Michael Pealow and Associates.

The company will assist with the plan, which will include coming up with a permanent location for the festival and developing a "realistic budget.”

The annual June festival began in Haines Junction 11 years ago, but was moved to Whitehorse in 2011, where it has been hosted at the Yukon Arts Centre.

The move to the capital came at a time when the festival was outgrowing its then-location at the St. Elias Convention Centre and after a vote by village council to prohibit overnight parking on municipal properties, including the convention centre's parking lot.

That meant a number of volunteers, performers and fans could no longer park their RVs at the festival for the weekend in the Junction.

In moving to Whitehorse, Chiles said, it had been hoped that the festival audience would grow (it had sold about 400 weekend passes when it was in Haines Junction), but that hasn't happened.

She also noted that it's more expensive to hold the festival in Whitehorse.

While the arts centre's staff have worked hard to accommodate the event, the group is now looking for a location that will provide an indoor concert space while also providing more of a camping atmosphere.

Haines Junction is among a few communities being considered for hosting.

After attending a village council meeting, Chiles said, it seems that while the bylaw prohibiting overnight parking remains in place, council is willing to work with festival officials as well as RV park owners, who took issue with the previous free parking, to come up with a solution that suits all.

"It sounds very promising,” Chiles said.

The organization will also be looking at Teslin and Carcross as potential sites.

As for the budgetary issues, Chiles noted the group has a deficit of about $9,000, but it is "very manageable.”

At the same time, "it's a slippery slope,” and it was felt that taking a break and coming up with a long-term plan would enable the organization time to deal with the deficit while it's manageable and become stronger for future festivals.

The bluegrass society is welcoming any input and suggestions through festival@yukonbluegrass.com or through its Facebook page.

The society's annual general meeting is set for Feb. 6, when the long-term plan will be presented. Work on implementing the plan will then get underway.

"We are all eagerly looking forward to the 2015 Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival, which will continue to showcase high-quality international and local musicians, high quality sound and the incredible scenery and hospitality of the Yukon,” Chiles said.

While the festival will not be held next year, the society noted it will continue hosting events throughout the year, with details available on the group's website at yukonbluegrassmusic.com and the Facebook page.

The Yukon Bluegrass Music Society is not the first organization in the territory to cancel its annual event in 2014.

In October, officials with the Frostbite Music Society also announced its decision to cancel its annual February festival after a number of funding application deadlines were missed due to the departure of producers and a turnover in board members.

Frostbite has also stated its intention to rebuild and strengthen the organization through 2014 in order to return with a festival in 2015.