The city is giving the Wake the Giant music festival $17,000 worth of assistance for the September event.
At last night’s meeting, Councillor Shelby Ch’ng argues the city should put its support behind the festival by providing the stage and equipment for free.
“I think we owe it to ourselves to make this small, very small, contribution to a program that is leveraging the good will of our community.”
Wake the Giant is a program to identify safe spaces for Indigenous youth, and its music festival will be part of a student orientation for Indigenous students.
There was criticism from Councillor Rebecca Johnson that letting the festival use the stage and equipment for free would lead to multiple groups asking for the same treatment.
Councillor Mark Bentz echoes Ch’ng’s statement, noting the in-kind services and equipment is worth giving the Wake the Giant organizers.
“There was some talk of setting a precedent. I think it sets a great precedent that we’re going to support festivals that are culturally important to this community. This being the first one, we need to get behind this as fully as we can.”
The festival is taking place September 14th in support of Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School.
City staff say they are already providing a $10,000 grant toward the cost of stages and other equipment, along with booking costs, event permits, and helping to plan the festival.
