The Vancouver Folk Music Festival may return after all
Work is underway to try to save the Vancouver Folk Music Festival from permanent cancellation, according to the society's board.
Earlier this year, the non-profit's board announced that because of financial difficulties, it would be recommending that the society be dissolved thereby bringing an end to the beloved summer event.
But in a media release Monday the board said outcry over the decision led them to rescind the motion.
"The public said they want to us to try to find a way to keep the folk festival going. We listened,” board president Mark Zuberbuhler wrote in a statement.
“The Vancouver Folk Music Festival has long been, and is currently, in a financially dire condition. Our main goal as the board has always been to see a strong, sustainable festival. Because of the strong support that has come from the community and our partners we now see the possibility of building that festival."
The vote to dissolve the society was initially scheduled for Feb. 1 but the date was pushed back a month.
Last week after a virtual town hall drew a crowd of 300, Zuberbuhler said the board voted to take the motion off of the agenda for the society's annual general meeting.
“Our funders, our partners, other festivals, our members, and our audience have said unequivocally that they want to help with the work of saving the festival,” he said in the statement.
“The festival really needs that help now so this is very encouraging.”
The board has launched a fundraising and volunteer drive and has created an online "thought exchange" tool where people can share their ideas on how to save the festival.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.