Is it culture wars, poor planning, sour grapes, miscommunication, poor leadership, or none or all of the above?
New Westminster on one day seems to be jazzed up for just about any kind of party in our fair city – and then on another day seems to want to sit on the sidelines and hope it all sorts itself out.
It’s no wonder people may be confused, and frustrated.
At one time, during the whole Hyack brouhaha of 2013-14 (ICYMI: Internal problems triggered an audit and a closer look by the city), it was suggested the city hire a “festivals coordinator” to manage festivals and special events in the city. When Greg Magirescu, the former manager of arts and cultural development in the city, parted ways with the city it was reported at the time that the position would be filled but perhaps with a different title.
It was a touchy time. Many people took it to mean the city was going to “take over” Hyack and use its resources to bolster a new position in city hall. That idea seemed to dissolve, and since then it appears that many different folks in city hall play a role in how the city supports, or doesn’t support, festivals and events in New Westminster.
And it all, eventually, comes back to city council.
Recently, city council nixed a Hyack bike race, and some thought this was a continuing “culture war” against Hyack. For sure there’s still a lot of open wounds from the whole Hyack mess, but the city did say the race organizers did not get adequate support from the neighbourhood.
And now, Show and Shine is off again, and the Quayside Festival has called it quits for this year, blaming the city’s poor planning (having three festivals on one weekend) for making it impossible to run. A city employee did apologize to the organizer for not consulting with the organizers, but clearly the damage was done.
We’re the last folks to call on the city to hire more managers. But, perhaps, now is the time for the city to rethink how it’s enabling, or disabling, city festivals and events.
Clearly there needs to be a coordinator who oversees the whole shebang. And council needs to be crystal clear on its motives for getting involved – if it even should.
Festivals can be great things, but festivals that flop because of poor coordination and clumsy execution can tarnish a city’s reputation. There are plenty of examples of that – and we certainly don’t want New West to be added to that list.
