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July 10, 2008 COMMUNITY FESTIVALS IN FULL SWING AROUND THE PROVINCE– – –Great Festivals Around the Province to Visit Including the Folk Festival: Robinson Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport Minister Eric Robinson announced the province will provide a total of $185,800 this year in assistance to 42 Manitoba community festivals and invited everyone to check out Manitoba festivals including the Folk Festival which starts today and has been running for 35 years.
“Many festivals include a cultural focus providing a unique educational experience that helps Manitobans of all ages learn about our province,” said Robinson. “Celebrating our cultural roots and historic past shows us the cultural diversity that makes Manitoba such a great place to live and visit.”
In Manitoba, the types of festival range from family fun days, powwows, cultural festivals, country fairs, rodeos and western weekends.
“I congratulate the Folk Festival on 35 years of success,” said Science, Technology, Energy and Mines Minister Jim Rondeau at the Folk Festival launch today. “This unique Manitoba tradition brings together dedicated volunteers and music enthusiasts and, for some, marks the official start of summer celebrations.”
Robinson noted that a new festival celebrating its first year of funding is the Sagkeeng First Nation Treaty Days Celebration, which runs from July 28 to Aug. 3. This long-standing celebration with strong community and volunteer support includes a fishing derby, square-dance competition, children’s activities, truck mud bog, horseshoe tournament, canoe races, marathon, triathlon and golf tournament.
First introduced in 2003, the Community Festival Support program provides consultative and financial assistance to rural and northern community festivals which are recognized as being signature annual events in their communities.
The next intake for winter festivals will be Nov. 1, 2008, a change from the previous Dec. 1 deadline. Application information is available at regional offices of Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport.
The province has also been a proud supporter of the Winnipeg Folk Festival for all 35 years of its existence. There are over 45,000 admissions to this four-day festival of people and music with attendees arriving from all over the globe to listen to the world’s best music.
Economic impact studies in 2001 showed that out-of-town visitors to the Folk Festival spent more than $4.5 million in Manitoba. The Winnipeg Folk Festival receives the maximum grant of $90,000 through the Major Arts Festivals Operating Support program, which has a budget of $448,000.
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