By Mark Squibb
The City of Mount Pearl held the kickoff for the 43rd annual Frosty Festival in council chambers last week, allowing volunteers, staff, council, and, of course, Frosty himself, to meet and mingle, and while the festival will look much the same at the ground level, Mayor Dave Aker said this year the City has taken on a more active role at an operational level.
“We had a board that ran the festival for the last 42 years, and a lot of those people were on the board for a very long time and decided to retire this year, and so we decided as a City to take a little bit of the burden off the volunteers,” said Aker. “A lot of people don’t realize, but the Frosty Festival begins organizing in September, October every year, and so it’s a real burden on volunteers.”
Aker allowed that this year’s festival may be slightly smaller than in years past, but mainstay celebrations such as Frosty’s Birthday Bash, Light the Night Festival Launch, Snowball Dinner and Dance, and Frosty’s Extravaganza, will go ahead as usual.
“We have a good group of volunteers involved, we have our events staff here at the City organizing it all, we have 29 events from the sixth of February onwards, and I don’t think the residents will be disappointed with this year’s festival at all,” said Aker. “I think there’s something there for everybody, from seniors to youth.”
Aker said that in previous years, the City provided the Festival with an operations grant, and so having staff take a more active role in the festival ought not cost the City “very much more or less” than previously.
Last year’s grants totalled $65,000.
“I think we have to talk about doing things in new ways than we have in the past,” concluded Aker.
One thing that has not changed is the need for volunteers. Sheri Philpott is a member of the planning committee and has been tasked with organizing the many volunteers needed to make the festival a success, as she has done for the last number of festivals. Philpott said the committee needs about 150 volunteers, all told. As of last week, about a hundred had committed to volunteering.
“We have about a month left to go, so we’re putting a push on now for more volunteers,” said Philpott. She added the committee is also looking for youth volunteers, and have reached out to local high schools. She noted that students volunteering for the festival can apply those hours to their career development volunteer requirements.
Philpott said regardless of a volunteer’s ability, there is a task fit for them, whether collecting tickets, cleaning up, serving food, or helping folks find seating.
“Volunteering encourages a sense of community,” said Phillpott, who herself has volunteered with the festival for a number of years. “I grew up in Mount Pearl, I’ve lived here all my life, and volunteering with the Frosty Festival is a way that I can give back to the community. It gives you a sense of belonging.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can apply at frostyfestival.ca/volunteer.
“If you’re looking to get involved with something, if you’re looking to meet new friends, if you’re looking to satisfy your volunteer hours for school, just reach out,” said Phillpott. “We have a spot for you here at the festival.”
