Organizers of the 2016 Flin Flon Trout Festival will benefit from a year of experience as they prepare for this year’s installment of the summer tradition.
The Trout Festival committee held its annual general meeting on Thursday, Jan. 14 at Kinsmen Hall.
The 2015 executive committee members, all of whom were newcomers last year, agreed to continue in their roles, with the exception of the treasurer, a position not filled as of the AGM.
Secretary Annette Banach said the previous treasurer had resigned from the role due to illness before the 2015 festival and no replacement had been found. The committee is looking for someone to fill that role.
One concern raised at the meeting was the festival’s accounts. Banach said the festival budget remained uncertain as the committee was behind in its accounting.
She said the committee members have been working to coordinate the festival’s accounts and sort through bills in advance of sending the materials to a local accountant for auditing.
“By the time we pay the bills we think we are going to have about $9,000,” said Banach. “But that is just a rough estimate because we don’t really know the full amount of the bills.”
Banach and the other members of the executive expressed their interest in having the City of Flin Flon provide accounting and treasury support to take some liability and responsibility off the shoulders of the committee members.
Mayor Cal Huntley, one of the attendees, said he would speak to management at the city to determine what kind of support they could offer in that area.
When asked about the progress of this request at this week’s city council meeting, Huntley explained that a city employee had agreed to take on the accounting tasks for the Trout Festival as part of her role.
“[The executive committee] will need to have an internal treasurer, but we’ll do the accounts payable and track all the expenses and do all the bookwork,” Huntley said.
He indicated that the city plans to take over the accounting after the committee’s records have been audited.
In the interest of increasing the festival budget, Banach said she was willing to take a lead again in a fundraiser called the Polar Bear Swim.
This event, held for the first time last March in Denare Beach, saw a large hole cut in the ice. Daring jumpers, who had collected pledges for the festival in advance, took the frosty plunge.
“It was a huge success,” said Banach, who mentioned she had been approached by a number of people interested in taking part in another Polar Bear Swim.
Last year’s event raised just over $4,900 for the Trout Festival.
Banach suggested an additional fundraising idea: a family-friendly run or obstacle race held in knee-deep mud.
“This is popular in a lot of places,” she said.
Cait Bailey, Flin Flon recreation programmer, volunteered to explore putting on a mud run locally.
Eighteen attendees gathered for the AGM, including 2015 festival executive and sub-committee leaders, a handful of volunteers, and representatives from the City of Flin Flon, councillors Karen MacKinnon and Ken Pawlachuk, recreation manager Nicole Hartman and Mayor Huntley.
Following the election of the executive committee, attendees discussed some logistics and ideas for the festival, including adjusting the parade route and better utilizing the stage area at Pioneer Square as a performance space.
Karen MacKinnon suggested there was a need for seniors’ programming during the festival and offered to look into this further.
The committee encouraged members of the public interested in volunteering with the festival, or coordinating an event, to reach out to Anita Bradt, festival president, at 204-271-0153.
Festival facts
Tentative dates:
Thursday, June 30 to Sunday, July 3
2016 executive committee:
Anita Bradt, president; Melissa Richard, vice-president; Annette Banach, secretary; treasurer (not filled)
Sub-committee/Ad-hoc committee leaders:
Anita Pruden (Main Street Days), Tina Law (parade), Rick Hall (canoe races), Greg East (cabaret event), other ad-hoc committee leaders may still be determined
