INNISFAIL - Four non-profit organizations and two artists in Innisfail received financial support this past year through Alberta Culture grants, according to an update issued by the provincial ministry last week.
The Innisfail Kinsmen Club was the big winner by receiving a $100,000 Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant for their redevelopment of the Cannon Park playground.
Three other local groups received grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Innisfail Town Theatre received $7,230, Hearts of Harmony Chorus Society was awarded $2,940 and the Innisfail United Church received $1,950.
Two Innisfail artists also received grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Dennis Allen was awarded a Literary Arts Individual Project Grant of $15,000, while Devin Bryce Chambers was awarded a Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Grant of $15,000.
Tim Ainscough, treasurer and playground chair for the Innisfail Kinsmen, said his service club actually received CFEP’s approval for the $100,000 grant late last year.
“I've had the money in the bank for a while. It’s been sitting in my bank account literally since early fall last year, and then we got all the paperwork,” said Ainscough, noting the Kinsmen partnered with the Town of Innisfail on the playground project, as the town was ineligible to apply for a CFEP grant but the service club could as the Kinsmen is classified as a volunteer group.
“We applied for the grant, and if we got the grant we give it back to the town,” he said. “If we didn’t get the grant then the town pays for the playground.”
Ainscough said all grant monies for the inclusive playgrounds at Cannon Park and Mac's playgrounds, which were completed in 2023, have been paid and squared away appropriately.
The total cost of redeveloping both playgrounds came to about $300,000, said Ainscough.
He said the Kinsmen has no playground projects lined up for 2024 but his service club is working on two other projects; the back-9 of the Innisfail Kinsmen Disc Golf Park at Centennial Park, and Buddy Benches at two schools at the Innisfail Schools Campus.
“We worked with the town and we did another work bee last year and did a little clean-up and I think the town has done an awesome job of maintaining it,” said Ainscough of the popular disc golf course that was opened with the front-9 in 2021. “I’ve hearing nothing but positive stuff from the users.
“They're really hoping that we can get the back-9 in the spring,” he added. “And then we're looking at some other smaller projects.”
One of those “smaller” projects is a Buddy Bench for two of the schools at the Innisfail Schools Campus.
“They are a safe place. If people are feeling sad they can go there, and hopefully friends will see them and cheer them up,” said Ainscough. “Some are painted rainbow colours and ours will be painted Kinsmen red. It's more the thought behind it and then hopefully there'll be some education in the school that if someone is having a bad day they can sit there and hopefully someone will see and cheer them up.
“It’s kind of a concept,” he added, noting the cost this year will be about $2,500. “We’ve got two of those built that we will be putting up this spring.”
As for the cost of creating a back-9 at the Innisfail Kinsmen Disc Golf Park, Ainscough said the club is selling advertising at $2,500 a hole with each sponsor getting 10 years with branding.
“It sounds like there's interest in about six or seven holes already,” said Ainscough. “We sell them. They (businesses) get the advertising. We build it and install it all. They get the advertising for 10 years and then the town maintains it. We think it's a good deal.”
