The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer Not that long ago, the continued existence of the Flin Flon Trout Festival was questionable. The current executive, committees and volunteers proved it was possible, and beneficial, to keep the annual summer event going as this year's festival made a profit of roughly $5,000. Ending the festival with a gross of about $20,000, thanks to the Fish Fry, president Tim Babcock figures $5,000 will stay with the Trout Festival after the remainder of the bills are paid. Combining what used to be two socials into one paid off, as organizers saved money on hall rentals and bands and turned a profit on that event. "Instead of having two smaller socials, we had one bigger one," said Babcock. "Last year, we lost money on the Friday and made it up on the Saturday and broke even on the festival. 'Bigger profit' "This year, we combined and made a bigger profit by keeping the expenses down with renting space, insurance and bands." For the second year, the Trout Festival held Flin Flon's Amazing Race challenge. In the first year, the challenges were geared towards everyone, whereas this year, Babcock says the teams were more competitive. Saying that, there wasn't as much interest as was expected, making it unclear whether the challenge will be back another year. Ideas on what to do with this year's $5,000 profit have already hit the table. New costume Babcock said one idea is to buy a new Teddy Trout mascot costume, which would range anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000. In contact with a few companies already, Babcock says they are looking at one with the same quality as the Chamber of Commerce's Flinty costume. Another task for Trout Festival organizers will be to revive the fishing derby. With a committee chair in place for next year, Babcock says they are hoping for volunteers to come back and improve the derby. "That usually means spending some money," the president said. Babcock says the festival has made some purchases they knew they wouldn't be seeing a return on, but which added to the fun of the event. The sumo suits and money spent on Main St. events come to mind. "Money spent on Main Street isn't coming back," he said matter-of-factly. Ideas are already being bandied about over how to improve the festival in 2012. These include things like the outline of the festival, the dates and new and revived events. Babcock says for the next festival he would like to see more group involvement. For those looking to get involved with the Trout Festival, contact Babcock at 271-3836 or [email protected] .
