Hand in hand

It’s not even Hallowe’en yet so Canada Day likely is the last thing on people’s minds these days.
But though July 1 is eight months away, that’s a relative “blink of the eye” when it comes to planning Canada Day activities, which is why the town is issuing a plea now for volunteers to help with the organizing.
And the underlying message is blunt: people need to step up or there won’t be any “Fun in the Sun” activities held in conjunction with Canada Day next year.
Volunteer burnout is nothing new here—nor is it unique to Fort Frances. Compounding the problem is dwindling membership in local service clubs (if they haven’t folded already), which no longer have the manpower needed to stage community events like in the past.
Which, in turn, is why the onus has to fall on others to take up the torch.
But that’s only half the equation. While events and activities obviously can’t go ahead without people at the reins, equally important is the need for residents to support those events and activities by attending them.
Nothing is more frustrating to volunteers or organizations than putting in long hours to plan an event—only to have relatively few people show up.
It’s a proverbial “Catch 22”: Events need people to attend in order to be successful, but people need events to be successful in order to attend.
Many seem to pine about the “good old days,” when “Fun in the Sun” was a 10-day community event culminating on Canada Day and the Point bustling with activities for all ages.
If that sense of community spirit and pride is to return, however, recruiting volunteers to run things must go hand in hand with everybody else coming out to take part.