Arts Festival
Attendance at the annual Sechelt Arts Festival was up over 2016.
A post-festival brief from co-producers Diana Robertson and Ross Powell for the Nov. 8 meeting of the finance, culture and economic development committee says there were more than 4,500 event visits, including 1,200 for the concert and stage shows.
The 2017 festival theme was Origins, Legacies of Coast Art and included the film syiyaya, our families, our stories – a Canada 150 project.
The festival also felt the impact of a $9,500 shortfall in sponsorships, which “required cutting expenses, artist fees, some marketing costs and cancellation of some annual programming such as Art in the Street.”
The brief says festival organizers finished with a balanced budget, but “we will require further examination in order to improve corporate or government sponsorship funding for 2018.”
A final report, including results of an audience survey, will be coming forward to council later this year, and Mayor Bruce Milne, who chairs the committee, said council “might look for an opportunity for a confidential discussion of the sponsorships and funding.”
Canada Day
Sechelt is considering contracting out part of the Canada Day celebration.
The district funds the events with help from a federal government grant through the Celebrate Canada program.
In a report to the committee, Siobhan Smith, arts, culture and communications coordinator, said the Sechelt Downtown Business Association would like to continue its role in 2018, but with a focus on Cowrie Street events such as the parade, music, and beer gardens.
The other focal point of recent Canada Days has been Hackett Park, which holds “family-friendly” events.
Smith also told the committee that last year’s Canada Day celebrations were under-staffed due to a shortage of people willing to volunteer their time to the festivities.
The committee voted to recommend council put out a request for expressions of interest for “an individual, business or organization to coordinate the family-friendly celebrations for Canada Day 2018.”
Coun. Noel Muller, however, said he was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of hiring people to manage community events like Canada Day. “I would hate to see the kind of scenario where community events become somebody’s job that they do for pay. There’s an aspect of volunteerism here that I think really works.”
The committee also endorsed applying for a Celebrate Canada grant for 2018, which could be added to the $10,000 already proposed in the annual budget.
RCMP building renos
The committee is recommending approval of a budget increase for renovations and upgrades at the RCMP building.
A staff report presented to the committee notes that “the capital project began in May 2017 and total cost of the project is well over the current budget of $102,188, mostly due to the design plan for the renovations having to follow strict safety regulations set forward by the RCMP Department Security Branch.”
The project cost is now estimated at $250,513. RCMP E Division Headquarters has agreed to cover just over 60.5 per cent of that.
Sechelt’s share would come to $98,903.
The RCMP is hoping to have the work done over the winter.
