Folklore Festival 2005 was an outstanding success. Well over 13,000 Festival visitors, entertainers, artists, food booth exhibitors, display booth exhibitors, sponsors, and volunteers enjoyed and helped bring to life the 32st Annual Folklore Festival at the Fort William Gardens Curling Club.

The featured Saturday night performers, VIVA, entertained the full house with modern, classic rock, and international music. On Sunday, The Phase III Steel Drum Band, recording artists from Vancouver and Trinidad , provided an ethnic flavour to the afternoons entertainment with their Caribbean music. Saturday and Sunday afternoons, local entertainers and performance groups shared their talents on the largest stage in Thunder Bay with top-of-the-line Thunder Sound and Lighting. Folklore provides a venue for talented artists to shine, and our audiences to enjoy the artistic excellence of the many cultures in our community and Canada.

The Childrens Area continues to be a popular attraction, and relies on the efforts of the Festival Coordinator and committed volunteers to provide activities and crafts for the many children who attend the Festival.

Organization

One coordinator, Michelle Lander-MacKenzie, was hired for sixteen weeks to oversee the planning and development. Committee members supervised publicity, food booths, liquor sales, entertainment, exhibitors, artists, sponsorship, childrens area, and the opening and closing ceremonies. The TBMA office staff provided vital clerical and organizational support.

Publicity, Advertising and Promotion

The Folklore committee took advantage of free publicity available through radio, TV, and newspapers. The Committee also advertised on local radio to ensure we reached a wider audience. Our Artistic Director appeared on Thunder Bay Televisions Around Town, while Public Service Announcements were widely distributed in all media. Festival volunteers distributed posters throughout the city and district. The Festival Press Conference was held at Intercity Shopping Centre, and a feature story appeared in the Chronicle-Journal. Paid advertisements appeared in local newspapers and on radio. Many interested festival goers accessed Festival details and information on performers through our web site at www.folklorefestival.ca.

Sponsors

This year we faced a major challenge when our major sponsor for the last four years, Shoppers Drug Mart advised us that they were unable to continue their sponsorship. Without the Shoppers Drug Mart financial contribution, we were faced with unexpected additional expenses. We found some additional support, but had to rent equipment and buy supplies for the Childrens Area.

Sponsors included (but were not limited to) Canadian Heritage, Dougall Media, Italian Cultural Centre, TBayTel, Vianet, Wilsons Business Solutions, local Credit Unions, and WestJet. Our draw prize, a Free Trip for 2, was donated by WestJet.

Food Area and Exhibits

The many food booths, featuring cuisine from countries as far away as Vietnam and Croatia, are always a highlight of Folklore. A separate booth sold specially selected imported beers and wines. The exhibit booths in the Main Gardens area featured hand-crafted treasurers from such far-away places as the Ukraine and India, and, closer to home, Aboriginal artwork of area artisans. Thunder Bay visual artists displayed their art and discussed their craft with Festival goers.

Conclusion

The Folklore Festival is the one event during the year when people from diverse ethnic backgrounds can come together to share and appreciate each others heritage. It continues to attract one of the largest audiences for any cultural gathering in Thunder Bay. Once again, thank you to all groups involved and to the many volunteers for your support at such a great event.