If some new blood doesn’t step up to the plate, Jasper’s Canada Day celebrations might be sorely lacking next year.
Members of the volunteer committee-which has been running most of the day’s events since 1992-have collectively called it quits, leaving the fate of next year’s celebrations up in the air.
In an interview July 7, committee treasurer Tamar Couture explained the committee has been shrinking, and the three remaining members have been looking to resign for years. The problem: no one is willing to step in and take over.
Barb Barker, who had chaired the committee for nearly a decade, told the Fitzhugh that even volunteers for the day itself have begun to dry up—this year no one stepped up to carry the flags in the parade, and the committee had to pay people to man the barricades.
For several years committee members have also been stuck cleaning up the soccer fields after the fireworks—an arduous task that involves raking the entire field and gathering up all the debris.
“It just goes on and on, and we’re just throwing up our arms,” Barker said.
Aside from a small amount from Parks Canada, the Canada Day Committee relies on a government grant and donations from local businesses to cover the cost of the festivities, which Barker said is approximately $15,000 to $20,000 each year.
Couture said that as long-time committee members have begun to burn out, and businesses start to suffer from donation fatigue, that money has been harder and harder to come by.
That has translated into less impressive fireworks shows (this year the committee spent $8000 on the display, compared to $10,000 in 2006) and a dwindling parade lacking attractions like live bands.
Now, after years of frustration, all three primary members of the committee are stepping down. This means that unless a new group of volunteers step in, many popular Canada Day events will stop.
But that hasn’t happened yet.
Couture thinks part of the issue is that many Jasperites don’t realize exactly how much the committee does during Canada Day celebrations. Many, she said, believe the municipality and Parks Canada put on the whole day.
“That’s just not the case, “ Couture said. “It’s just a small group of volunteers putting it together.”
While the municipality does organize and run the annual pancake breakfast, and Parks runs the flag-raising ceremony, the main events – including the parade and fireworks - are all organized by the committee. This means that if no one steps in to fill the roles of president, vice president and treasurer, Canada Day in Jasper will be without its signature events.
“It could just be a pancake breakfast and a flag raising, and then people will just go off and do their own thing for the rest of the day,” Couture said.
The fact that the town’s Canada Day celebrations are run primarily by a committee and not municipal administration is unique, as only a handful of communities operate this way.
Couture said that the current committee will be sending letters to the municipality, Tourism Jasper and Parks Canada to inform them of the members’ departure, which she hopes will translate into someone agreeing to take over.
Couture explained that if individuals from town were to step in, there should be five or six of them to ensure the committee runs smoothly.
“It just needs new blood - some new ideas and some new people to give it energy again - and hopefully there’s some people out there who are willing to do so,” she said.
Both Couture and Barker expressed their regret at leaving the committee, but both say they are also worn out, and would like to be able to enjoy the celebrations from the other side for a change.
Couture said she hasn’t been able to sit and watch the parade with her kids for years, and this year her husband even had to drive the float carrying flags, because no one was willing to carry them.
Barker said that she has enjoyed bringing unique events to town on Canada Day, and hopes Jasperites realize what is potentially at stake if it folds.
“It breaks my heart because it’s something that I’ve put an awful lot of effort into in years past - but it’s like flogging a dead horse at this point.”
Trevor Nichols
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