Plan better

Who says there’s nothing to do in Fort Frances?
Saturday alone saw the “Relay for Life,” the Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Festival,” the “Teddy Bears’ Picnic,” and the windup for the older divisions in Fort Frances Youth Soccer all being held.
Couchiching also had planned its pow-wow for this past weekend, although it ended up being postponed due to other circumstances.
On the bright side, these are indicative of a vibrant community—offering a wide variety of activities for all ages and walks of life to enjoy.
It’s one thing, however, to have several events going on that complement each other. It’s quite another when they wind up competing for participants, foot traffic, and wallets, which particularly seemed to be the case with the “Relay” and dragon boat races falling on the same day.
True, the stormy weather Saturday afternoon and evening certainly was a reason why this year’s “Relay” fell well short of its fundraising goal. But co-chair Jennifer Anderson acknowledged that everything else going on was a factor, too.
You can’t do anything about Mother Nature, of course. Planning is a different matter—and Ms. Anderson was right in saying the committee would do a better job co-ordinating with the community to avoid future scheduling conflicts.
These are all worthy events. What’s needed is organizers to plan better so each one can thrive by getting the support they deserve, not dividing it.