SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
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Fall Fair floundering
ISSUE
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Spring training
Summerlanders are getting ready for the Giant’s Head Grind and the Giant’s Head Run.
Page 15
School budget
The Okanagan Skaha School District is trimming $1.1 million from its budget.
Page 2
Sunday market
A weekly farmers’ market in downtown Summerland is planned to begin this summer.
Page 3
Road barriers
Residents of Prairie Valley Road are unhappy with the no-post barriers in place there.
Page 6
Set design
A Summerland artist is working on the set design for the X-Files miniseries.
Page 8
Giving service
The Masonic Lodge has been serving the community.
Page 13
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
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S U M M E R L A N D,
B.C.
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T H U R S D AY,
APRIL
30,
2015
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20
PA G E S
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$1.15
Status of gaming grant still unknown as organizers seek additional members for volunteer board John Arendt Organizers of the Summerland Fall Fair are waiting to learn if they will receive a large grant from the B.C. Gaming Commission for this year’s event. The $20,000 grant makes up roughly 70 per cent of the fair’s total budget, said Tim Broesch, president of the fair. Last year, the grant was announced in early March, but this year, the fair’s application was audited and as a result, Broesch said the fair organizers do not yet know if they qualify for the funding. Notification of the audit came near the beginning of this year. Broesch hopes to hear from the B.C. Gaming Commission on the status of the audit by the end of next week. “We have to get past the audit and have them deem us eligible for the grant,” he said. He added that the audit was the result of a random selection process. If the fair is eligible and qualifies for the grant, the next obstacle is in assembling a board of dir-
At the fair
Lance and Karen Ruck examine one of the many displays at last year’s Summerland Fall Fair. An estimated 1,700 people attended last year’s fair. This year, because of funding uncertainties and the need for board members, the future of the 105-year-old fair is uncertain.
ectors for the September event. “We don’t have enough people currently to facilitate the fair,” he said. There are a total of
eight members on the board, but Broesch would like more in order to fill key roles on the board. “We are currently in need of a secretary,
volunteer coordinator, website/social media director, vicepresident and two additional individuals who will work alongside two of our
current members for succession planning,” he said. Each position requires a commitment of two to three hours a month, except
INCLUDING
GST
in September when the fair demands additional work. He added that only one of the members of the existing board has long-term experience with the fair. If a full board can be assembled by early May, the members will have to organize the event on a tight timeline. The fair is held in September, allowing just four months for all preparation work. Broesch is optimistic that a board should be able to meet this deadline. “For a two-day event, it shouldn’t take more than three or four months,” he said. The date may be pushed back for this year, he added. The fair, which has been a Summerland tradition for 105 years, is held on the weekend following the Labour Day weekend. This year, because of the timing of Labour Day, other fairs in the province have scheduled their events for the same weekend. “We would be competing with three other fairs if we keep our weekend the same,” Broesch said. Some of the other fairs draw large crowds, making it difficult for local organizers to book entertainers and vendors who also participate in other fairs. See FAIR Page 3
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