Folk Festival celebrates a million dollars in surpluses

The Winnipeg Folk Festival holds its Annual General Meeting tonight, May 14. Festival supporters will gather to celebrate the Festival�s successes in the past year while gearing up for the countdown to the 2008 main event. What�s to celebrate? Well, this year�s $360,000 record surplus puts the Festival�s cumulative surpluses since 2000 past the $1 million mark at $1.042 million.

As a not-for-profit, the Festival reinvests all surpluses into the organization. Being on a sound financial footing since 2000 has allowed the Festival to expand and improve its activities and programming at the summer festival and year round. And now, the Festival is on the verge of a major investment in developing the Festival site in Birds Hill Park.

Says Festival Executive Director Trudy Schroeder. �The Festival has grown so immensely, we needed to look at the site as a whole and be proactive about adapting it to changing audience needs, the audience size, and changing technologies, while still maintaining our commitment to environmental stewardship and audience experience. It�s a huge challenge, but it needs to be taken on.�

The site development will be based on a Site Master Plan created by landscape architects Hilderman, Thomas, Frank and Cram. This plan provides a framework for investment in the festival site to allow for greater capacity and significantly improved infrastructure and amenities. A $3-million project over five years, site development will be one of the major investments of the proceeds from operating surplus and fundraising programs. The plan won a Regional Citation Award from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.

The architectural firm Syverson Monteyne has been selected to design and develop the proposed structural elements of the Site Master Plan, with building starting in 2008. The first projects will include a new backstage kitchen and a new �village� concept for restaurant facilities in the front-of-house area.

Syverson Monteyne Architecture (SM-ARC) is a Winnipeg-based architecture firm specializing in designing intensive, one-of-a-kind projects. The firm has developed a national reputation for critical work with a particular emphasis on the prairie landscape and environmental responsibility. Since inception, SMARC has been committed to creating useful and beautiful buildings designed specifically for the intense Manitoba climate and its demanding, varied landscapes. Their completed work to date includes multi-unit and single-family housing, religious architecture, workplaces, and institutional and recreational buildings. Principals are Dean Syverson and Tom Monteyne. Their most famous public building to date is the Alloway Reception Centre at Fort Whyte Alive, Winnipeg.

Other Winnipeg Folk Festival accomplishments of note in 2007-2008 year:

- Year-round activities, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival Concert Series and music, art, educational and community events in the Festival�s intimate Folk Exchange venue, continued to expand.
- The presentation of the Festival�s annual Artistic Achievement Award to Buffy Sainte-Marie included a moving visit and talk by Sainte-Marie at the Aboriginal Centre.
- The Festival Music Store at Bannatyne and Albert broke even for the first time.
- A partnership with the Floodway authority resulted in moving 70 trees from the Floodway to the Festival site.
- The Premier�s Volunteer Service Award was given to a group of Festival volunteers who had been volunteering with the event for 30 years or more.
- A partnership with Passalong Networks added on-line music sales to the Festival�s repertoire of activities.
- A new look and feel to Festival marketing materials by Relish Design resulted in three Signature Awards.
- The first national meeting of folk festivals� staff took place in Vancouver, strengthening the Festival�s connection with similar events in Canada.
It was also a sad year for the Folk Festival with the passing of many Festival friends, including long-time volunteer (and Premier�s Volunteer Service Award recipient) Mildred Speers and long-time supporter and board member Ron Oswald.

The 35th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival takes place July 10-13, 2008. Tickets are available at the Festival Music Store or Ticketmaster. Early Bird ticket deadline is May 31. Visit winnipegfolkfestival.ca for more information about the Festival organization, tickets, or 2008 Festival performers.