18 Nanaimo News Bulletin Saturday, February 14, 2009

www.nanaimobulletin.com

Volunteers make annual Festival happen

Every winter, a group of. volunteers
from the Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre
d’Erable treks up to Mt. Washington,
spades in hand, in search of snow. Up
early, they set out in a truck and drive as
far up as possible, before leaving their
vehicle behind to complete the journey
on foot. In effect, it takes an entire day
to cart snow, one bucket at a time, down
the mountainside. But who’s counting?
Snow is one of the festival’s key ingre-
dients! That’s because it is the cold layer
over which warm maple syrup will be
poured, to make one of the festival’s
most sought after delicacies, ‘tire sur
la neige’.

But snow fetching is only one of the
many tasks tackled by the festival’s
volunteers. For instance, it takes about
seven days to set-up the physical space
at Beban Park. From transforming the
Centennial building into the ‘Maple Sugar Shack’,
to creating a market area, setting up entertainment
tents and installing activity stations, volunteers work
tirelessly. In fact, before the tents are even unpacked,
festival organizers and their many volunteers have
already spent months planning the event. Whether

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it is booking entertainers, scheduling participating
retailers and presenters, confirming sponsors or
liaising with community organizations, no details
are overlooked.

“Volunteers work in the shadows, and they are
the ones who work really hard,” says Nicole Lan-

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glois, Executive and Artistic Director
of L’Association des Francophones de
Nanaimo.

This is acomment Michel Morin, site
General Manager, agrees with.

“It’s hard to find volunteers for the
physical setup of tents, but there is a
dedicated group of 12 labourers who
return to the festival every year. It’s a
tough day’s work for those guys.”

And yet, despite the-grueling sched-
ule, these people are joined by many
__ others who also donate their time every
year.

Thankfully, support within is matched
by astrong commitment from the entire
community, with many local groups
involved in the realization of the event.
Their participation helps “creating a
community-wide event, not something
that is just for the Francophone Asso-
ciation,” says Nicole Langlois.

Proof is in the maple sugar! As preparations are well
underway to ensure the success of this 9th annual
celebration of the Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre
d’Erable, be sure to attend this popular family event,
February 20th to 22nd, at Beban Park, in Nanaimo.

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