2017 ANNUAL REPORT Years 27Celebrating 27 Years, the Silver Skate Festival Always Falls During the Family Day Weekend
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2017 ANNUAL REPORT Years 27Celebrating 27 years, the Silver Skate Festival always falls during the Family Day Weekend. The festival site, picturesque William Hawrelak Park, is transformed into a community hub for Albertan and 85,000 visiting families to explore. Edmonton’s river valley attendees in 2017 park system and its amenities offer a unique and memorable winter experience. Our 2017 festival attendance was down due to unseasonably high As Edmonton’s Premier Winter Festival, we include temperatures during our event. The all ages and strongly align with the mission of the festival was forced to cancel some Silver Skate Festival Society: of our festival programming and “To provide a free family oriented winter registered events. Working with our celebration blending arts, culture, recreation and programmers and site staff some sport showcasing various skating disciplines programs on the second weekend and promoting outdoor activities in Alberta.” were modified and/or moved due to Silver Skate Festival represents Edmonton’s diverse festival site conditions. This was not Contact Contents multicultural community and embraces winter as a without its challenges, but we were positive feature of our northern lifestyle. pleased that with the diversity of For more information on this report 1 27 Years our programming we were still able and the festival please contact: William Hawrelak Park is a 68 hectare park in 2 Meet Our Team to provide programming throughout the river valley featuring a 5 hectare skating pond the course of the festival for all of Silver Skate Festival Society 4 Our Partners during the winter. Using the park as a blank our attendees. Weather may have 10212 112 St. 6 Revenues canvas, the festival activates a large area of the park been a factor but the park remained Edmonton, Alberta to feature its arts, culture, sport and recreation busy with engaged individuals. T5K 1M4 CANADA 7 Expenses programming. With plenty of room for expansion, Silver Skate Festival is realizing 8 Marketing the Silver Skate Festival was once again happy to Phone: 780.488.1960 share the park with one of our partners, Ice Castles. its potential as an economic 10 Signature Events driver for Winter Tourism Email: [email protected] 15 Special Events 2017 marked our fourth year as an expanded ten- in the City of Edmonton. day festival. Thanks to our many partners, our Web: www.silverskatefestival.org 16 Sporting Events diverse programming proved once again to have 19 More Free Stuff something for everyone. Visitors were truly engaged join us at next year’s festival Photographs by in community building experiences and creating 20 Looking Forward Marc J. Chalifoux Photography memories; memories that will last a lifetime. FEBRUARY 9–19, 2018 21 Partnership Opportunities Silver Skate Festival 1 MEET OUR TEAM Our Crew Our Board The Executive Producer and Creative Director work The Silver Skate Festival is a not-for- year round to prepare for the Silver Skate Festival while profit organization. Our volunteer the rest of the team begins working at various times board is involved in all aspects of throughout the year. A labour of love, each member planning for the festival and their of our team goes above and beyond to ensure the commitment before, during and after continued success of the festival. are truly appreciated. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SITE STAFF PRESIDENT Erin Di Loreto Shauna Murphy Harm de Groot Jeremy McConville Our Volunteers CREATIVE DIRECTOR VICE-PRESIDENT Gin May 280 volunteers provided 2384 hours Ritchie Velthuis Jeff Davis Cassidy Armstrong of service to the Silver Skate Festival. SITE MANAGER Bruce Chedzoy TREASURER Volunteers ensured the Silver Many volunteers return year after Matt L’Hirondelle Cliff Grant Tony Loconte Skate Festival was a free festival for year and this created a stable base ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT FIRE CAPTAIN DIRECTOR (EDMONTON WINTER TRIATHLON) everyone to enjoy. Positions before, of knowledgeable workers. Our Maria Koulouris Jason Wispinski Rodney Al during and after the event included number one rule was for everyone BOOKKEEPER SNOW AND ICE SCULPTURE DIRECTOR (SKATE RACES) site preparation, traffic control, to have fun. We hosted a volunteer Shamira da Silva LEAD ARTISTS Brian Johnston official greeters, production, orientation the week prior to Stuart Ballah warming fire supervision, and the the festival and our volunteer VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Jeremy McConville DIRECTOR facilitation of the many activities at appreciation program included a Karen Mykietka Christian Denis Rikke Dootjes the event. Volunteers were crucial trailer with a lounge area where we SCHOOL PROGRAM COORDINATOR Mark Hill DIRECTOR to the success of Festival and their served hearty soups, snacks and Karena Dang Ritchie Velthuis Tyler Westover commitment ensured that every refreshments. visitor had an optimal experience. STAGE MANAGER SCHOOL PROGRAM DIRECTOR All volunteers received a gift bag Trent Crosby LEAD SNOW ARTIST Chris Ward We recruited volunteers through and were entered into draws for Randall Fraser advertising in newspapers, websites prizes donated by local businesses FOLK TRAIL STORY & DIRECTOR DIRECTOR INDIGENOUS/MÉTIS WINTER CAMP and social media. and community groups. Elizabeth Hobbs COORDINATOR Douwe Spriesma LIGHT INSTALLATIONS Melissa Jo Belcourt-Moses SECRETARY Ritchie Velthuis, Brianna OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER Russell Gottschalk SCiP Interns 2017 SCIP INTERNS Odland, Bob Fedina The Serving Communities The post-secondary students gain Marc J. Chalifoux Meg Wenschlag Internship Program (SCiP) is a skills, experience, and networks LIGHTING DIRECTOR Photography Mell Wolfinger partnership of Volunteer Alberta so they can expand their career Scott Peters GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Martha Elena and the Government of Alberta. opportunities and receive a $1000 J. Velasco Joel Higham This program brings Alberta’s award at the end of the program. Maria Vu Greg deJong nonprofit organizations and post- The Silver Skate Festival enlisted Hafila Makhani PUBLICISTS secondary students together the help of SCIP internships Alyssa Bucyk Darka Tarnawsky to make a difference in their in various programs at the Jordyn Eberts Kyle Humeny communities. festival. With their help we were Feifei Tian SCiP internships are meaningful, able to achieve greater success Keltie Squires skill-based opportunities providing and increased capacity of the Cornelis Koeman mutual benefit to both not-for-profit programs at our event. Micah Seneshen organizations and post-secondary students. The not- for-profit organizations gain added talent and human capacity so that they can better achieve their missions. Silver Silver Skate Skate 2 Festival Festival 3 OUR PARTNERS GRANTORS Rooted in the Dutch tradition Each year more businesses and Edmonton Arts Council for the love of skating and the community partners see the value of Canadian Heritage beauty of winter, the Silver Skate the festival to the community, but Alberta Foundation for the Arts Festival began as a one-day event each year fundraising becomes more Alberta Lottery Fund hosted by the Dutch Canadian competitive. Faced with this reality, Edmonton Heritage Council Club (DCC). The DCC would we thought outside the partner/ highlight Dutch culture while sponsorship box and approached serving up traditional cuisine in Ice Castle LLC. We have formed an PLATINUM SKATER an orienteering tent near the ice. arm’s length agreement with this Keeping food hot on a winter for-Profit Company to share in some PARTNERS It is through day proved challenging but Sid marketing and programming cost of the visionary City of Edmonton Braaksma of Northgate Industries our free festival. We are pleased to attitude and Northgate Industries provided a solution. Providing a have them back in 2018. generosity of kitchen and dining trailer along Ice Castles LLC Created from tens of thousands community with some programming dollars, Mammoet of icicles, this acre and a half- builders that Northgate Industries became our frozen spectacle was built by we continue first corporate partner. As the Edmontonians for our Winter City to see great festival has grown so has Northgate Gold Silver Bronze and its visitors to enjoy. Inventor strides in the Industries commitment. They Brent Christenson’s ingenious growth and Skater Skater Skater continue to be one of our largest building technique enlisted the development contributors through cash and PARTNERS PARTNERS PARTNERS help of approximately 40 local icicle of the Silver in-kind donations of goods and farmers and an irrigation system to Skate Festival. CSU 52 Benevolent Society Alberta Milk Snow Valley services. create the project. Truly a work of Varscona Hotel on Whyte River Valley Programs Northern Lights Vacations Many other community partners art and a seemingly natural wonder, Patcher Energy Edmonton Tourism Melcor have come forward to help us this installation transformed Superior Show Service Martin Deerline Potato Growers of Alberta realize our potential. Mammoet an open field into the majestic supports the Edmonton Winter Ice Castle. Once visitors walked ONEC Kiwi Productions NEXGEN Grafix Inc Triathlon. CSU52 Benevolent through the entrance they were WinterCity Edmonton Alberta Traffic Supply Society supported our Live transported into another world. The Capital City Catering Turris Performers Tent and River Ice Castle, which opened in late MEC Canadian Progress Club Valley Programs supported our December and closed shortly after OCTS Production Paramedics free cross-country skiing