Finances a struggle, but Kiwanis Music Festival gets underway
The annual music festival began in 1952
It's gotten harder and harder to secure funding over the years, but the Kiwanis Music Festival is getting underway this weekend in St. John's.
Thousands of musicians of all ages will compete for prizes, take part in classes and get feedback from musical mentors over the course of 12 days.
It's a festival that doesn't come cheap, said the president of the Kiwanis Music Festival Association of St. John's, and has gotten increasingly expensive over the decades.
"It's a sign of the times. The economy's tough, costs are going up. Our budget is about $160,000 to run this festival," Eileen St. Croix told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.
St. Croix estimated there will be anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 musicians taking part, with nearly 200 volunteers to run events and help judges.
Donors aging
About two-thirds of the festival's budget comes from entry fees students pay and admission costs for the concerts, St. Croix estimated.
And with around $21,000 being given out in prizes, it means they need to do a fair bit of fundraising.
"We have donors who very, very graciously have been funding these over the years, some via legacy accounts and others with donations each year. And when you add all that up together there's still an area that's not really funded," she said.
Kiwanis music festival performers Connor Whittle and Claire Hill in studio singing on the <a href="https://twitter.com/sjmorningshow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sjmorningshow</a> right now. <a href="https://twitter.com/Fred_Hutton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Fred_Hutton</a> <a href="https://t.co/2siv8PG5VX">pic.twitter.com/2siv8PG5VX</a>
—@MaggieGCBCThere is some advertising money coming in, and some from corporate sponsors, too.
"This year we were certainly in need of increasing our funding, due to increasing costs, and due to the fact that some of our older patrons are aging and passing away, so some of our sources of income have decreased," she said.
Luckily, she said, DF Barnes stepped in as a corporate sponsor, adding they've been "quite generous."
'A very positive experience'
The Festival kicks off on Saturday, and will run until Feb. 28, for anyone who wants to either get involved or take in some music.
"Anybody can enter. We have open classes, we have age-specific classes," said St. Croix.
"We have group classes, we have family music, we have choirs, bands, instruments, pianos, and strings."
And don't worry, the judges aren't harsh.
"They're pleasant, nice people," she said.
"The whole idea about this is for it to be a very positive experience for everybody involved."
With files from the St. John's Morning Show