Just before the Olds & District Kiwanis Music Festival's annual Grand Concert and Awards Tuesday, organizers held a social to celebrate the fact that this was the festival's 35th anniversary.
That social, which featured a speech by festival board president Kim Christensen and the opening of a time capsule originally created for the festival's 25th anniversary celebrations, was held in the band room at the Fine Arts & Multi Media Centre.
About 30 people attended. They checked out some tables filled with memorabilia from the festival's history.
Signs marking the anniversary and paying tribute to donors were also set out.
"The Kiwanis Club has been our major sponsor from the very beginning, so we appreciate the Kiwanis Club very much," Christensen said. "We acknowledge our other donors too. We appreciate you because that makes it possible to finance the festival."
She also thanked past and present board members as well as the music teachers who were in attendance, adding those teachers are "vital to the quality of our festival."
"We thank and appreciate all of those who have volunteered in the festival over many years," Christensen added. "All of you have played an important part in the festival's continued success."
Christensen noted that this year, the festival received "a very significant donation" from the estate of Glen Machell.
"We are so pleased and honoured to be one of the beneficiaries of Mr. Machell's will," she said.
Christensen noted that Machell's sister-in-law, Elsie, a festival volunteer for many years, was in attendance at the social. She said Glen got involved in the festival through Elsie's husband. They were both Kiwanians.
"Her children performed in the festival. She's got grandchildren who have performed, so we are very appreciative of their dedication and commitment to the festival as a family," Christensen said.
With that, Christensen and her husband Tom, who, as principal of Olds High School, makes the TransCanada Theatre available for the festival, opened the time capsule.
"We don't even know what's in here. Let's see," Christensen said as she took a peek inside.
"So here's a broken -- bow," she said, sparking laughter. "Somebody obviously didn't need this anymore."
Other items inside included a recording of the evening, some posters, newspaper photos and stories from the event, and a commemorative booklet containing highlights of the festival. Also in the time capsule was a CD from a festival performer.
"Does anyone know if this is a handkerchief here," Tom asked, gingerly hold a cloth.
"Somebody had a cold," someone in the audience said, sparking a little laughter.
Kim speculated that it could be a cloth to clean musical instruments. Tom agreed.
The time capsule also contained a message from Garry Woodruff who was the festival president 10 years ago.
"It says here the Olds Music Festival is the largest rural music festival in Alberta. Is that true anymore? I don't know if it is," Tom said.
The 25th edition of the festival contained about 800 entries. Tom was told the figure this year was more than 600.
He and others in the audience noted that's likely due to the fact that 10 years ago, the festival used to get entries from about 20 communities, including Rocky Mountain House and Airdrie.
Tom said the festival's budget in its 25th year was $32,000. He was told this year, it's expected to be between $36,000 and $40,000 after adjudicators' expenses and other costs are factored in.
In his note, Woodruff said for many years, the festival had been held in various local churches and schools, "but the Community Learning Campus should be ready for us in 2009."
"It wasn't," Tom said, sparking some laughter. "It was ready in 2010, approximately."
Similarly, the note also said, "we will have to see how the Fine Arts Centre will work out."
"It's working out quite well," an audience member said.
Kim agreed.
"I think it's working out fabulously," she said.
"Did you make any of this up, Garry?" Tom asked.
"Probably all of it," Woodruff replied, sparking laughter.
After the social ended, the memorabilia display tables were set out in the lobby so those attending the concert could view them.
