President’s Report

Festival 2009

This has been a very interesting and productive year for the Festival. The number of performers was around 1,000 ranging from very young to adult. This is about the same number of musicians and dancers who participated in Festival 2008.

Our adjudicators handled their responsibilities well and gave the performers very supportive comments and encouragement on their performances. They commented positively on the Festival, and when we said we could like to have them return in five years, each thought that was a good idea

It was a great success and our audiences enjoyed the music and dance. There were perhaps fewer in the audiences than in past years but those who joined us were enthusiastic.

We feel we are very much supported by teachers, parents, audiences, donors, volunteers and the community at large all of whom make the Festival a reality. A lot of hard work, talent and dedication goes into the preparation of the Festival and we are so lucky that we have all of that in our supporters.

I am particularly impressed by our donors who gave so willingly to help us with our work. The Festival has a broad level of support from members of the community and their generosity is appreciated.

There was a high turn over of Board Members this past year. Six new Board members were elected at the Annual General Meeting in 2008 and, on a Board of eight elected members, a high level of knowledge and history of the Festival was gone. However, everyone pitched in, pulled together and it worked. We were fortunate in having experienced and hard working Discipline Chairs who were a great help to all of us. Barbara Storer, who did an amazing job of fund raising, Pamela Earle, our hard working secretary and Paul Pedlar, our Vice President are leaving the Board and we thank them for their service Also, Betty Paterson who did Venues and Volunteers for several years has resigned. Betty’s love of music brought her into the Festival and she has worked hard and done a wonderful job. Barbara, Pamela, Paul and Betty will be missed. I thank them for the time and energy they gave.

We have had some difficulty this year getting people to join the Board but will keep trying to get new members. Patti Gunning has agreed to return to the Board for a year or until we are able to get a new secretary and Dorothy Fraser will help us with volunteers for Festival 2010.

There are several people I would like to acknowledge who do not serve on the Board but give us invaluable service by generously giving of their time. They are Terry Andrews, Syllabus and Program Coordinator, Bob D’Arcy, Volunteer Webmaster, Tom Daniels, Sound Equipment and Deb and Doug Proby at Raven’s Cry Theatre. Our partnership with School District 46 provides access to the Chatelech Theatre at no cost while the Festival waives entry and membership fees for school choir and bands. Luba Arduin, Chatelech Secondary School, has been instrumental in helping us arrange for the use of the school theatre.

The work his has been a most rewarding experience for me. There was a challenging learning curve but Sue Milne gave her time to help me learn the ropes. I thank her for her help and support and also for her leadership as President for four years. I also thank all of you for your on-going support of Festival.

Norma Mercer