After setbacks, Vancouver Folk Music Festival could be revived

The board of the society has announced that efforts are being made to keep the Vancouver Folk Music Festival from being permanently canceled.

The non-board profit had earlier this year stated that it would be recommending that the organization be disbanded due to financial issues, eliminating the cherished summer festival.

But the board said in a media statement on Monday that public outcry over the choice prompted them to withdraw the motion.

 

"The public said they want us to try to find a way to keep the folk festival going. We listened,” board president Mark Zuberbuhler said 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."

It was originally planned for the society's dissolution to be voted on on February 1 but that date was postponed by a month.

Zuberbuhler claimed that last week, following a virtual town hall that attracted 300 participants, the board decided to remove the proposal from the agenda of the society's annual general meeting.

The board has started a volunteer and funding drive and developed a website "thought exchange" platform where individuals may express their suggestions for how to keep the festival alive.