Land of Plenty asks for some council support

Details

Published on Friday, February 20, 2015

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner

A delegation for the Land of Plenty Festival has requested some support from Neepawa town council.  Sheri Grant appeared in front of council on Tues. Feb. 18, representing a subcommittee of the Neepawa and District Chamber of Commerce that’s been assembled for the purpose of organizing the new regional celebration. 

Grant outlined some of the initial details for the new event, which is scheduled for July 24-26 and would replace the defunct Neepawa and Area Lily Festival. A request for $10,000 in financial support from the town was also made. That funding would be used for the identified costs of entertainment for the festivities and rental of facilities within the town.

During her presentation, Grant noted that the hope of the subcommittee was that the revised weekend celebration would engage local merchants on a more direct level and be less intrusive to day-to-day municipal operations.

“We have no plans to close the streets, except for the parade. And that will require considerably less labour than we’ve had in the past from the town staff,” said Grant. “(As well), The chamber of commerce has made a commitment once again to run a parade and they are planning on engaging the business community in sidewalk sales and window dressing. General participation in lieu of sponsorship. We aren’t asking for money from the community, we are asking them to participate and get excited about being residents of Neepawa.”

Town councillor Murray Parrott requested additional information on how and where spending for any potential town grant would be distributed. He also expressed concern about the lack of direct financial commitment being request from local businesses and asked the C.A.O. to obtain a copy of the subcommittee’s budget. Grant noted that the financial support for the Lily Festival has declined over the past few years from business leaders and that this different model may engage more business owners again and get them excited about the weekend going forward.

Council has taken the grant request under advisement and will review it in the near future. Tentative plans for the Land of Plenty Festival include 28 activities, ranging from the aforementioned parade, a mud run, eating contests, free outdoor films, and a social and NACI reunion.