Local Festivals Receive Financial Boost

(Summer In The City 2014)

Four communities in southeastern Manitoba are getting some financial assistance to be able to run festivals in 2015.

Provencher Member of Parliament Ted Falk made stops Tuesday in St.Malo, St.Pierre, Niverville and Steinbach announcing more than $50,000 in grants under Canadian Heritage's Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program.

Festival of Friends in St. Malo is receiving $11,400 towards their event in February, 2015. The Sugaring Off Festival in St.Pierre is getting $14,300 for their event in April, 2015. Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair has been promised $13,800 for their event in June, 2015. Summer In The City in Steinbach will get $10,800 for their June, 2015 festival.

(Ted Falk with Crystal Hildebrandt and Cindi Rempel Patrick of Summer In The City) "I am pleased that our government is supporting festivals that bring visitors to the region and get residents involved in their communities, says Falk. "I applaud the hard work of these organizations and the many volunteers that help ensure the success of these events year after year for all to enjoy."

"This money from the federal government is huge," says Crystal Hildebrandt, Chair for Summer In The City. "It's difficult to get a group of volunteers around the table to put together a festival for our city and any time that we can get money like this makes their job a little bit easier."

Hildebrandt adds a big focus for organizers is trying to make the festival accessible for as many people as possible. She says Tuesday's funding announcement does just that.

Even though all of these festivals are still more than four months away, Falk says announcing the grants early enough gives organizers time to take the funding and use it as seed money in order to find funding partners within the community.

"Our government is a strong supporter of communities and recognizes that having a festival in a community is one way to make the community come together as a community, celebrate its uniqueness, celebrate their common values and it creates stronger communities," notes Falk. "When people come together they build friendships, they learn to work together through the volunteer pool that each community has but they also learn to serve. And that's what really builds healthy communities, when people learn to serve their neighbours."