Morden and Miami receive community event grants, one will revive cherished festival from the past

On Thursday the Manitoba Government announced the recipients of the Community Celebrations Program part of the Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund established in August 2022, according to a press release from the Manitoba Government on behalf of Manitoba, Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Obby Khan.  

The $100,000 funding will be distributed through three programs: large capital projects; small capital projects and special initiatives; and community celebrations, over the next three years.  

Among the 67 community recipients were the Miami Recreation & Playspaces (MRP), Celebration of Miami Fun and Fiddle Festival’s Legacy, Diversity and Culture as well as the Morden Multicultural Winterfest (MMW) event held last month, on February fourth. 

MRP Co-Chair April Hildebrand applied for the grant in December, and she explained how their awarded $5000 will be used.  

"It will be for a community celebration that we plan to have October 21st. The celebration is to commemorate the long-standing Miami Fun and Fiddle Festival. It will feature live entertainment from seven-time Manitoba Country Music Association Award winner Quinton Blair, along with three-time Manitoba Fiddle Champion Michael Audette. We hope this community celebration will become a new tradition."  

(submitted photos) Top: Three-time Manitoba Fiddle Champion Michael Audette and Bottom: Seven-time Manitoba Country Music Association Award winner Quinton Blair

Alex Kusturok, Marla Winters and Jason Lepine were judges at the final Miami Fiddle Festival in 2014.

Hildebrand is grateful for the funding as it will make this celebration possible noting hosting this event will help go towards those costs so everyone can enjoy it. 

This year, Morden's Multicultural Winterfest tried a new format and Committee Chair Shelly Voth said the $5000 received will help to cover the increased costs of trying something new. 

"Normally, we've had it at the Access Event Centre. We did want to expand it and try something a little bit different. Something that was more of a pavilion-based, more like Folkorama for this year, and we spread out into six different venues."  

Five different regions from around the world were set up in different venues in downtown Morden with the Canadian Pavilion, featuring a variety of winter activities, taking place at Lake Minnewasta. 

"The lake was super popular. We had great weather for that Saturday, we were really thankful for that. We were able to expand a lot at the lake and the team really worked really hard to add different things that we weren't able to have at the Access Event Centre, and just to make use of something Morden has and we're proud of." 

A crowd of people enjoy the great outdoors and Canadian Pavilion at MMW in front of the new warming hut.

She shared why it is so important to host this event each year. 

"Winterfest has always been a great thing for our community and that it brings cultures together and cultures being excited about showing off their culture and being on display and checking out other cultures and more than is great for the community in general to see the different cultures that have moved into more in the last 10 years. And just to celebrate that and be supportive of them.  

Voth is asking for those who attended this year's event for feedback on the new format. Those wishing to give feedback can email her at svoth@mymorden.ca