City to take over management of Snofest

Two city councillors even say winter festival has run its course as the number of volunteers melts away

City staff is taking over the management of Snofest next January from a dwindling number of volunteers, leaving two city councillors wondering whether the winter festival has run its course.

Coun. Gary Baldwin and Coun. Dave Haacke are both members of the arenas, parks and recreation advisory committee, which authorizes city sponsorship of Snofest.

At a committee meeting earlier this week, they both said maybe the festival — which offers a series of winterthemed events throughout the month of January — ought to wind down after a run of 42 years.

Baldwin pointed out that January is no longer reliably snowy, due to climate change, and that it’s getting harder to round up volunteers.

“I wonder if Snofest could be scaled back, a little bit,” he said. “If we can’t scale it back, then maybe it’s an event that has run its course.”

At the meeting, the committee heard from city recreation coordinator Rob Anderson that Snofest has been managed for years by volunteers. The festival has also had city sponsorship and is insured under the city’s policy.

But lately the number of Snofest volunteers has been dwindling, Anderson wrote in a report, and at the same time insurers expect more rigorous oversight from city staff to ensure public safety at the events.

That risk-management responsibility has fallen to two city staff members, Anderson wrote in his report — and it’s a lot of work for those two, particularly in December and January.

To mitigate that, Anderson said a staff committee has been formed to take over management of Snofest. Volunteers will still help organize, but the city will be in charge.

The arenas, parks and recreation committee agreed to this arrangement.

But Coun. Dave Haacke said he wonders if the city really ought to be taking over the event; he suggested perhaps it has “run its course.”

‘‘ I wonder if Snofest could be scaled back, a little bit. If we can’t scale it back, then maybe it’s an event that has run its course. COUN. GARY BALDWIN

Ken Doherty, the city’s director of community services, was also at the meeting. He said he shares some of those concerns.

Doherty said Snofest is definitely at a “critical turning point”: volunteerism and fundraising are both decreasing, he said, while the job of risk management becomes more complex.

Meanwhile Doherty said there’s a larger dilemma at hand, one he wants to draw to council’s attention: the city must find a new strategy to offer parades and large public gatherings (such as Snofest) while also “providing a level of protection” from potential injury.

Snofest was founded in 1976, states the festival’s website.

It got started after officials from ParticipACTION, the national non-profit group that aims to get Canadians more physically active, visited Peterborough.

Snofest was their pilot project, states the website, and it was designed to get people more physically active in the winter.

Although it started as a one-day winter festival, Snofest grew over the years into a month of events.

The events also changed to include Snofest Idol, which is a talent and performance competition at Showplace, and a Saturday at the museum filled with events such as sleigh rides.