You hear it again and again in a place like Jasper – volunteers needed. There aren’t enough volunteers to go around. Everyone’s getting volunteer burnout.

Event after event rolls by, many with too few helpers to really get off the ground. It often seems the only volunteer-run events are those put on by organizations who can exert pressure on their members to lend a helping hand.

In Jasper, as the discussion goes on about sustainability and the town’s volunteer problems, it’s been suggested time and again that some sort of art and culture director is a much-needed position, to offer assistance to organizations without hordes of members backing them up.

Such as the Canada Day committee, which works tirelessly to put together a day of entertainment for local and visiting families. Or the Rodeo committee, which brings to life Jasper’s Heritage Rodeo, a cherished yearly event.

Arts Jasper produces a solid lineup of musical performances for Jasper, to broaden the concert scene beyond local pubs and bars. The Jasper Heritage Folk Festival Society is run by volunteers who bring a type of arts showcase to Jasper that’s popular in many towns.

All of these events bring in visitors, which is beneficial to everyone in town, so why isn’t more effort put into making them great?

One area which seems to struggle endlessly is arts and culture, more commonly known as regular musical or dance performances put on by local volunteer organizations.

Because there isn’t a strong venue in town out to make a profit from artistic performances and therefore determined to bring in great acts, someone else needs to step up. Again, it’s volunteers, and they hold the events at churches or in other donated spaces, none of which are looking to do more than break even.

There’s nothing wrong with that – the show’s prices are very reasonable and the volunteers do a great job with the organization. However, it’s sad to see such people, who are simply trying to share what they love with others, seem to hit every road block there is.

Sometimes, surely they feel they just can’t do anything right. But fortunately, the Yellowhead Regional Arts Festival Society has had a breakthrough.

A few weeks ago it was announced that YRAF would receive a $315,000 grant from the Rural Alberta Development Fund (RADF) towards its idea for a vibrant regional arts and culture delivery system, dubbed the Creative Campus.

Good on RADF for supporting this venture, as well as the towns that have partnered up in support of it. 

If others would follow suit, it would lead to a rich, fulfilling arts scene, right in our own backyards.