STEPHENVILLE — Bernd Staeben, chairman of the Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival, said the unfortunate part about learning about the Stephenville Rotarians suspending its festival for 2013 was “the lateness of the hour.”
The Stephenville Rotary Club announced this week the suspension of the festival citing difficulty in recruiting volunteers as the cause.
On Tuesday, Staeben said the Corner Brook festival would be able to accommodate between 50-100 entries from Stephenville, but had the planning committee known two or three weeks earlier, the city festival would have been able to fit in all Stephenville entrants.
“Our deadline has passed for the submission of entries, but we will do what we can to accommodate some entries,” he said.
Staeben said he suspected something wasn’t well with the festival when there was no representative from Stephenville at the annual meeting for music festivals in the province held recently in Gander. He said the Stephenville Rotary Club has always been a contributor and willing partner at the annual meeting.
Hard to find volunteers
He said it is a tough time now everywhere in the province to get people to volunteer to do the work, and said he was disappointed when he heard Stephenville was having trouble.
“It’s not just a Stephenville Rotary Club issue, as this deals with the health and well being of music festivals in the whole province,” Staeben said.
He said the Kiwanis Club in Clarenville has already stated the 2013 event will be its last festival. The club, which organized the festival for more than 40 years, said currently 12 of its 18 members are older than 75 and it isn’t in the position to continue.
Staeben said the Corner Brook festival is alive and healthy and attributes it to being fortunate enough to have a good board and system in place. He said perhaps offering restitution for taking on the top position would open up a pool of qualified people in Stephenville.
“We would do anything to help Stephenville and I’ve already been offering some advice to several of their members,” he said. “I really think they might have to pay someone to do the executive secretary position.”
The Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival has been paying someone an honorarium for years. Staeben said the amount is based on the number of entries in the festival, which could be the same type of formula Stephenville could use.
The Kiwanis Club in St. John’s has one full-time employee and another paid position for six months of the year to run its festival. However, Staeben said Corner Brook is not in the position to do that.
The Corner Brook festival’s total budget is approximately $40,000 and of that $15,000 to $18,000, representing 45 per cent of the total budget, goes to the adjudicators that are brought in. He said they expect to be well paid, and expect first-class treatment.
Staeben is hoping the Stephenville Rotary Club can get things in order for 2014, but said if it is unable to host a festival Corner Brook will accommodate all entries if it is informed early enough.
“But in saying that, I think Stephenville should have its own festival. It’s good for the performers and their teachers because of the travel involved,” he said. “We’re (Rotarians and Kiwanis) all brothers in arms trying to keep this going.”
He said the real shame in suspending a festival is the children, who miss out on the opportunity to perform.
