The Innisfail Historical Village is launching a new fundraising event to celebrate the coming of autumn, an event that is geared towards attracting more local visitors.
The Fall Festival, which is set for Sept. 7 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., will feature vintage car rides, a harvest dinner and live entertainment.
“We were looking at different ways to partner with different organizations in Innisfail and the surrounding area to develop a good fundraiser for the village,” said Debbie Becker Matthie, museum manager. “Most of our events now are going to be geared towards making more money for the events and bring in more attendance. As long as we can keep bringing in the local people, the village will be more sustainable financially.”
She said the historical village has had a good year with attendance with about 80 per cent coming from out-of-town visitors and 20 per cent from Innisfail.
“It is the norm for small-town museums, but we would like more local people to come and to see what they have here and appreciate the value of the place,” said Becker Matthie. “We want this to be one of our major fundraisers. Canada Day by far is our major fundraiser, but 600 to 700 people is a big event for us so we are trying to find different ways to raise money, and this might be a different way.”
She said the new event is a natural way to celebrate the coming of autumn and to honour farmers.
“It will bring attention to the fact the fall is the busiest time for them when they are trying to bring their crops in,” said Becker Matthie, adding guests will be able to take in an old-fashioned country dinner that will include corn on the cob and tasty pies.
The Fall Festival will also include a scavenger hunt, door prizes, and 50/50 raffle.
Guests will be treated by performances from the Centennial Fiddlers and Joy's School of Dance.
“The Centennial Fiddlers belong to the Alberta Association of Fiddlers. They put groups together that go out and play at different functions,” said Lawrence Gould, treasurer of the museum's board of directors. “They provide good old-time music. There are a lot of followers for fiddler music.”
Tickets for the Fall Festival are $10. They are available at the historical village, or through board members and can also be purchased at upcoming farmers' markets.
For more information call the historical village at 403-227-2906.
