Manitoba Chamber of Commerce
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/70344
PARKLAND DAUPHIN & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ROBLIN & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ROSSBURN & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RUSSELL & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SWAN VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Thousands of fans pack the Dauphin's Countryfest site every summer to catch some of the hottest acts in music. Photos courtesy of Dauphin's Countryfest NEW & NOTEWORTHY The inaugural Countryfest was organized by a private group of business owners eager to regain income they'd lost on a stalled hotel project outside of town. The hotel site was converted to campgrounds for festival-goers, but the venture proved a financial disappointment. The following year, it was turned over to a non-profit group, whose members procured $100,000 in seed funding from investors throughout the community. "The first year our group operated, we lost $50,000 of that $100,000," Irwin recalls. "So the next year we went back and got another $50,000 from the same people. The third year we booked the Kentucky Headhunters and we made some pretty good money. Within about three years, we'd paid back all the seed capital plus 20% interest, and we've had a reserve fund to cover a rainy day ever since." Festival programming has always skewed populist — think Vince Gill, Terri Clark and Toby Keith — but with three stages for audiences to choose from at all times, there's plenty of room for roots, blues, and even rock 'n' roll. This year's lineup, for instance, features the newly solo Ronnie Dunn (late of Brooks & Dunn), Georgia faves the Zac Brown Band, and country queen >> >> Before he won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, skeleton racer Jon Montgomery had support from Russell businesses and residents who launched Mission Montgomery. Now, Russell is getting behind Montgomery and his wife, World Cup medalist Darla Deschamps-Montgomery, with Mission Montgomery Two, a fundraising drive to help the couple train and compete with an eye on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. www.missionmontgomery2.com >> Dauphin's Countryfest is a gift that keeps on giving. The festival was a major financial backer for the $1.2 million Countryfest Community Cinema, a unique non-profit theatre that directs all profits back into the community. The multi- plex, which was supported by hundreds of residents and businesses, opened in early 2011. www.countryfestcommunitycinema.ca MBiz June 2012 13 PARKLAND