Council's unanimous vote Sept. 25 to increase local arts funding pleased Sue Judge, executive director of the Prince George Folkfest Society.
“We were all so pleased with council’s reaction and their pledge of support,” said Judge.
"This is huge for all of us as all of our agreements are up for renewal this year so they all have to be renegotiated. And I was really pleased to hear that they are very supportive of an arts strategy. That came up during the meeting and they were all very supportive of that and I think it’s super important for this city.”
Judge said that she doesn’t know exactly what the boost will mean to the Coldsnap Music Festival, which the society organized and presents each year.
“But all the money we ever get from anybody always goes back into programming,” Judge said.
“And we’re changing things up a little bit with the format of Coldsnap to be more shows in a little more compact fashion. We’re also trying to do more shows throughout the year and just announced the Dak’et, Shun Inli 2024, Music in the Fall show.”
The show is presented in the Dakelh language and, with support from Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, the Prince George Folkfest Society is celebrating arts on Lheidli T’enneh Territory with an evening of live music Saturday, Oct. 26 at Knox Performance Centre. It features Juno-award winning artist and Coldsnap alum Celeigh Cardinal and AV and the Inner City.
Judge noted that during many events in the city, including Coldsnap, there are free-to-attend events included in the programming.
“That is certainly the case for Coldsnap that is set for Feb. 5 to 9,” Judge said. “There are lots of event that are free to attend but not free to present. We rely on those tickets sales from the main events and lots of support from funders and sponsors to do that and all of us do that. It’s important to note how important arts is to the social fabric of the community. It’s not just about entertainment, it's about sharing stories and communicating and educating. That’s what we’re all about.”
For more information about the Coldsnap Music Festival visit www.coldsnapfestival.com/.
Four local arts organizations came together to ask for a boost to their annual funding Sept. 25, with city council approving an additional $200,000 to be divided proportionately between the four.
In addition to the Folkfest Society, they included the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the Community Arts Council of Prince George & District and Theatre NorthWest.
