OLDS — Town council has agreed to provide organizers of the annual Olds & District Kiwanis Music Festival with a $1,200 sponsorship grant.
The Town of Olds provides a grant to organizers every year. In 2023, the amount was bumped to its current rate from the previous figure of $1,000.
This year’s festival is scheduled to run March 17 - March 27.
The grand concert will be held Tuesday, April 1. The benefit concert will be held Thursday April 3. Both concerts will be held at the TransCanada Theatre.
A town document hinted that the festival is good for the economy.
It noted that last year’s festival featured about 1,000 performers, not only from Olds and area, but also from Bowden, Didsbury, Sundre, Carstairs, Cremona, Crossfield and Water Valley, as well as Cochrane and Calgary.
“Supporting live music and culture in our community follows our vision of alive with opportunity, making Olds a more attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit,” the document said.
Mayor Judy Dahl said, “I highly recommend if any council members and/or viewers have time to sit and listen to some of these students and contestants. It’s a beautiful concert.”
In her letter to the town, festival fundraiser Anjoli Rice said during last year’s grand concert, 20 participants were acknowledged and $1,700 in scholarship money was awarded.
She indicated that some of the performers in last year’s festival did very well at the provincial festival and some were recommended to compete at the Canada West level.
