Clock ticking

It didn’t draw much attention—barely a passing mention in the Rainy River Future Development Corp.’s quarterly report to town council back on Nov. 23—but the future of the “Harmony of Nations” Music Festival here is an important issue.
More precisely, will it live to see a third year?
Clearly some changes are needed given attendance at the second-annual event held back in mid-July, while not terrible, wasn’t to the level organizers had anticipated.
More importantly, the festival did not draw a significant number of visitors from outside the region.
That latter point is what’s most crucial. While it’s great to see Fort Frances stage an annual music festival that residents here can enjoy, its real benefit lies in providing a boost to the local economy by attracting visitors—and their wallets—to our community.
Summer music festivals are popular in many towns across Northwestern Ontario, as well as south of the border. Fort Frances, for some reason, hasn’t been able to cash in. A country music festival in a field on McIrvine Road back in the 1990s never caught on while the Fort Frances Folk Festival, held at the Little Beaver Cultural Centre, fizzled out after just a couple of years.
Is “Harmony of Nations” doomed to a similar demise?
Let’s hope not. Simply put, Fort Frances cannot afford to let any opportunity to bring in tourists slip through our collective fingers.
On the bright side, the RRFDC realizes the need to thoroughly review “Harmony of Nations” this winter—an indication no one is ready to throw in the towel just yet.
The downside is that the clock is ticking. Next year’s event may be seven months away but that’s a relative “blink of the eye” in terms of properly organizing a successful major festival.
There is no time to waste.