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
BREAKING | U.S. President Joe Biden touches down in Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.

Trudeau, Biden could agree to end 'loophole' in Safe Third Country Agreement: CP source
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Opposition parties affirm call for interference inquiry, amid questions over MP Han Dong
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
'Scream as loud as you can': 5 boys rescued from NYC tunnel
Five mischievous boys had to be rescued after they crawled through a storm drain tunnel in New York City and got lost, authorities said.
Make sure to check your grocery bill otherwise you may pay more: Survey
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Asteroid to hurtle past Earth closer than the moon this weekend
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
Number of Canadians receiving EI at record lows, down 44 per cent from last year: StatCan
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Indigenous sisters developing video games to revitalize Mohawk language
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
Here are the locations of the first 12 new Zellers stores
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.