In 2008, when local promoters Dani Vachon and Jason Sulyma first envisioned the Olio Festival, they had a lofty aim in mind: that it would become one of the premier events on the North American festival circuit.

“That’s my own personal goal for it,” Vachon tells the Georgia Straight, speaking on the phone from the passenger seat of Sulyma’s car while heading out to a last-minute photo shoot. “To have it become a destination festival, similar to South by Southwest or CMJ or Pop Montreal.”

“As big as jazz fest,” Sulyma chimes in. “More venues, more love.”

Ambitious as they are, the festival directors are quick to note that Olio is now only in its second year, and becoming one of North America’s must-see festivals is a work in progress. Still, there’s no question that the 2010 installment of the event is a major step up from last year. Taking place over four days (September 23 through 26) in various venues around the city, the event boasts over 75 musical acts in addition to art, comedy, and film. Whereas 2009’s music lineup was largely made up of local underground talent, this year’s edition includes notable touring acts like Chad VanGaalen and the Very Best.

In order to accommodate the expanded lineup, the organizers recruited more help to ensure that planning went smoothly.

“[In 2009] we overworked ourselves to the bone on a very small staff,” recalls Sulyma.

Vachon concurs: “I was trying to do too much last year, for sure. I was trying to do operations management and all of the design and also producing the outdoor event and I was just exhausted.”

Now, the Olio team has almost doubled, and includes 30 volunteers plus a handful of new contract workers—not to mention the production managers who will start working once the festival begins.

This improvement has made a big impression on the artists performing at Olio. Local synth-pop outfit Fine Mist is one of several returning acts, and the band’s members confirm the festival’s increased efficiency.

“They asked us to play well in advance of when they asked us last year, and they started to promote the show a lot sooner,” offers vocalist Megan McDonald.

“It seems bigger and glossier,” adds synth player Jay Arner. Laughing, he adds, “It’s getting pro-er.”

Sulyma and Vachon emphasize that this sense of professionalism will not come at the cost of their allegiance to the local music scene. “Our talent pool is so thick here. You can put four bands that nobody’s heard of at the Astoria or at a studio like China Cloud, and it’s going to sell 300 tickets,” Sulyma observes.

By bringing in larger acts from around the world, he hopes to shine a light on the local music he loves. “That’s the whole point: we want to get the locals exposed to the mainstream.”

No matter how much the festival grows, the organizers intend to reserve about half of the slots for Vancouver-based bands. “You can’t not have them in the festival. It would be insane,” says Sulyma. “We’re always going to save a pile for local.”

True to this promise, the 2010 edition includes an impressive array of homegrown talent. The diverse lineup ranges from rockers like Ní¼ Sensae, White Lung, and the SSRIs to the creepy electronica of Babe Rainbow and the hushed folk of the Abramson Singers.

If Vachon and Sulyma can turn Olio into one of the continent’s major music attractions while staying true to the local scene, it will go a long way toward helping Vancouver shake its reputation as the No Fun City.

“As long as I’ve lived here, people have been calling it that,” says Vachon of Lotusland’s other, and more unfortunate, nickname. Fittingly, the festival will be screening the documentary No Fun City, which addresses Vancouver’s numerous venue closures and strict liquor laws.

With Olio, the organizers are doing their part to combat the problems addressed in the film. “There’s a lot about it that’s a challenge, but people always seem to push through it and have a good time anyways,” Vachon observes.

With such significant growth in just two years, it’s safe to expect Olio to keep on expanding. Although no formal planning has begun for 2011, the founders have already begun tossing around ideas for future installments of the festival. “We’d like to have more outdoor shows, free-for-the-public stuff, work with the city more,” Sulyma reveals.

Having seen the improvement that a larger staff makes, he also hopes to keep adding to the Olio family. “We just want to work with more and more people,” he says. “More volunteers, more national sponsors, not just local sponsors. Vancouver gets left behind, kind of, because all of the media’s out east.”

But maybe not for long, if Vachon and Sulyma have anything to say about it.