Festival Place
Published April 24, 2009
While there are a number of very important items that I could have expounded on in this article I felt it important that I give a bit of history and background on Festival Place. I remember the beginning of a dream by a number of our residents who felt that Strathcona County needed a venue where the true culture of our community could be displayed. These residents fought hard and convinced the Council of the day that it was imperative that a facility be built and Festival Place, the building, was constructed. This version was substantially reduced from the original concept but at last theatre had a home of its own in Strathcona County.
One of the conditions to building the facility was a promise by the Council of the day that no tax money was to be used to operate the facility. A Board of volunteers was subsequently formed to ensure this promise was fulfilled and continued. Two County Councillors also sat on this Board with that purpose in mind. There were a number of very slim years in the beginning but eventually the Board was able to secure enough sponsorship money, grant money and other revenue to facilitate some good quality entertainment for the facility. I served as president of the Board for one year during this period and was very proud of the job this volunteer Board did for Festival Place and culture as a whole in our community.
I understand that a number of changes were made as to the legal status of this Board over the years but one thing remained the same; this Board consisted of a group of volunteers committed to ensure that culture remained in the forefront of our community and that they secure the best possible presentations of that culture for our facility. While some aspects of the original promise may have changed due to our present economic conditions, I cannot see that the commitment of this present Board has differed any from past Boards. They have been instrumental in obtaining substantial revenues from ticket sales, sponsorships, grants and fundraisers which enabled Festival Place to operate as a first class cultural presentation venue.
If the facility needed cosmetic help, which is what is being said, then why did we as a Council not try to work with this Board of volunteers to make this happen? Why instead did we just "fire" these volunteers by giving them 90 days notice that we are taking over everything? Will the County be able to generate the same type of grants, sponsorships etc, as these volunteers or how much money will the taxpayers now have to absorb? I guess time will tell.
In the meantime, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to these hard working Board members and volunteers of Festival Place who give so much of their time, energy and enthusiasm to ensure our municipality was a better place in which to live, work and play.
Vic Bidzinski
Councillor, Ward 1
780-464-8005
bidzinski@strathcona.ab.ca
Last updated: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Page ID: 1929