Can Vancouver Folk Music Festival be saved? Organizers exploring new options
The fate of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival isn't sealed just yet, according to organizers.
The festival's board revealed Thursday that several interested parties have come forward with proposals to help keep the annual event alive, and that members are exploring all options.
"This is very encouraging and the board is actively engaging with these parties to see how these possibilities might be turned into reality," reads an update on the festival's website.
"At this stage in our discussions, we must keep the details confidential."
The board has also pushed back its Annual General Meeting – during which members were expected to vote to dissolve the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society – from Feb. 1 to March 1.
Last week's announcement of the festival's cancellation was a major blow to the event's many fans, some of whom have been attending for decades.
Board president Mark Zuberbuhler blamed "massively increased costs" for the 2022 event's failure to break even, despite years of anticipation after the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dissolving the society would have allowed organizers to pay off the festival's remaining bills.
In Thursday's update, the board revealed the event's financial situation has "long been untenable," which it blamed in part on the Vancouver Folk Music Festival's long-established opposition to corporate funding.
"As views began to change on this, it became apparent that we were far behind the curve in building relationships with potential corporate funders in comparison to other festivals," the board wrote.
"We know that these relationships take years to build before substantial funding can be secured."
Should the festival continue, organizers said they would ensure it is "sustainable and able to operate in the new reality that we face."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.