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Red Deer County to offer funding for Canada 150 events

County to offer support for local events in light of Canada’s 150th.
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Red Deer County is getting into the patriotic spirit in anticipation of Canada’s 150th anniversary. The County has announced it’s offering funding up to $1,000 for any community groups wishing to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation.

A total of $29,313 is available to groups in Red Deer County, stated a media release from the County. Anyone looking to apply for funding is encouraged to contact the Community Services Department - all requests are required to be submitted before the June 30, 2017 deadline.

“We’ve just sent out the forms to community groups and associations, and advertised that people can contact us for an application form,” said Jo-Ann Symington, the community services manager with Red Deer County.

Symington noted the funding is not bound by many limitations, so long as the cause it’s going toward relates to Canada 150.

“It’s meant to be used for groups or organizations who want to host Canada 150 activities. We’re looking to support things like communities hosting parades, or fireworks or children’s festivals,” said Symington. “We haven’t put a lot of limitations on what it can be. We’re seeing what people are doing to celebrate Canada 150 this year.”

So far, Symington said there has been a lot of interest in the funding, adding “we’re just waiting to see what applications come in. It’s hard for us to target what the interest level will be at this point. We will have more info on what the uptake is, after dealing with the applications.”

She added, “we have no expectations at this point as to what the total uptake will be.”

Communications Manager Tyler Harke said the announcement was made at the most recent Council meeting on June 6.

“We certainly hope there will be a lot of uptake, because people have until the end of June to apply for funding. Council is hopeful there will be a good number of groups or organizations that want access to it, to Celebrate Canada 150,” said Harke.

According to Symington, this marks the first time the County has offered to provide funding for Canada Day events - something she attributes to the fact that Canada 150 is an especially auspicious occasion.

For more information on the funding, please contact Red Deer County’s Community Services Department at 403-305-2150.

samuel.macdonald@sylvanlakenews.com