It may be the holiday season, but plans for the 68th annual Trout Festival are underway.
The Trout Festival held its annual AGM on Nov. 27, where it saw all executive positions filled.
This year, Melissa Richard will serve as president of the Trout Festival committee, Anita Pruden as vice president, Annette Banach as secretary and Colleen Arnold as treasurer.
Richard said she was glad to see all of the positions filled, as this hasn’t always been the case.
“The problem that we have every year…and it’s something all organizations in town have, is lack of volunteering. We had to cut a few things back because we didn’t have enough people to run everything. For a few years, our president would be the president and treasurer, and we were doing double or triple duties to get things going,” she said.
It was through new volunteers that the fishing derby, a key part of the Trout Festival, saw a resurgence last year. The derby is expected to run again this year, along with the traditional Canada Day parade, fireworks, and canoe races.
“This festival is our 68th annual Trout Festival. It’s been a long standing tradition in Flin Flon. Our grandparents were in it, and it’s a time-honoured tradition,” said Richard.
“It’s a beloved event because everybody who has grown up in Flin Flon has gone to a Trout Festival every year. You walk up and down Main Street, see people you haven’t seen in a while…I don’t know how Flin Flon would feel if we didn’t have a Trout Festival. It would feel like an empty year, like no snow on Christmas.”
The executive’s goal is to make the festival bigger in time for its 70th anniversary in 2020. Donations from local business help bring the festival to life every year, and Richard said it can’t be done without the community’s help. She added that if there’s one thing the Trout Festival has taught her, it’s that the generosity of the community is “amazing.”
“What we want to stress to people is you can volunteer – you don’t have to be at every event, you can do an hour, you can do one event. You don’t have to be a board member, just give a little bit of your time. The more people give a little of their time, the more awesome the events are going to get.”
The Trout Festival will take place over Canada Day weekend in 2018.
