The president of the Rainy River Music Festival Association is very pleased with the number of entries received this year for the Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts.
“I am very happy with all the entries we have,” John Jankiewicz said Monday. “We have a number of entries from the Falls, as well as Atikokan and Baudette.
“I like to see people from all over enter the festival because it makes it more competitive,” he added.
In fact, with the dance portion being the biggest ever, organizers had to extend the April festival by a few days.
“Last year, we had about nine entries in the dance competition,” Jankiewicz noted. “This year, we have about 60 entries and we are all very pleased about it.
“Both dance studios have entered and so have a couple from International Falls.”
It’s also meant the Festival Association has had to rent an additional facility for the dance portion.
“Last year we spent around $10,000 on the festival,” said Jankiewicz. “This year, we are looking at spending about $12,000 and as a result of this increase, we need more financial support.”
Though the association has been actively fundraising since the beginning of the year, Jankiewicz admitted the campaign has not been going well.
“We are a bit slack this year,” he said. “The donations are just coming in like we were hoping. With the extra days of competitions and the need to supply a place to hold them, we are looking at some extra costs that we had not thought about.
“Right now any donation would be welcome,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, in an effort to bring more attention to the festival, the association has decided to hold a colouring contest for school-aged children around the community.
“Barb Stevens, who is a local artist in town, designed a picture that we decided to use for the front of our syllabus,” Jankiewicz said. “We have decided to take that picture and give it to the schools for the children to colour.
“We have a number of prizes and we will pick the winners at the final ‘highlights’ concert during the festival,” he added. “It was our way of trying to get kids involved and to promote the event.”
Jankiewicz also is very happy to announce some changes to the scholarships they festival offers each year–changes Jankiewicz hopes will appeal to a large number of people.
“In years past, we have only offered the scholarships to first-time applicants,” he explained. “This year, we have decided to open it up to people who have won the scholarship before, however, first-time applicants will get precedence.
“The deadline for applications is March 31 and people can get the application from the back of the syllabus.”
For more information on the Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts, contact Jankiewicz at 274-5494.
Donations can be sent to: Festival of the Performing Arts, Box 806, Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 3N1.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
