Popular lily festival in Neepawa finished after 18 years

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This article was published 16/12/2014 (4297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Despite a renewed sense of optimism among board members just last month, the Neepawa and Area Lily Festival has come to an end.

The annual event, which drew visitors from around the world, would have celebrated its 19th year in July 2015.

But during a vote last Thursday, the board opted to wind things down after it was clear there wasn’t enough volunteer interest.

“I’m a little torn, a little disappointed, but things happen,” said board chair Brent Hunter, who has been with the festival since its beginnings. “We had 18 good years and I guess we’ll move on and try something else.”

In November, organizers announced they had five new board members, who brought with them a sense of excitement for the future of the festival — despite it losing $15,000 last year due to grant money shortages, including cash from the Town of Neepawa.

In the past, the town has given as much as $22,000, but last year’s grant was less than half of that.

However, Hunter said the new faces also wanted to make major overhauls to the event, which led to a clash with the old guard.

“Some wanted to change everything,” he said, adding there was some criticism about the event only attracting older people.

“We were just beating our heads against the wall.”

The sudden end to the lily festival didn’t come as a total surprise to Hunter — and he still holds out a little hope it could be resurrected after a year off.

“We did talk about taking a year off and regrouping,” he said. “But once you quit something, you never really get the momentum back.”

Dates had already been set for 2015 and some of the vendors had already pre-paid, but the money will be refunded.

“It’s the same old thing — you don’t miss it until you don’t have it, and it did bring people to Neepawa,” Hunter said.

Organizers have said it attracts some 8,000 visits over the summer weekend.

The board vote to disband passed 13 to two, with former festival chairman Ken Waddell one of the dissenters.

“It’s very disappointing, it has become a signature event,” Waddell said. “We still have over 200 volunteers on our list who were ready to do certain jobs, but there was a shortage of people who had stepped forward to take on certain roles,” including marketing.

As of November, organizers were still looking to fill the positions of vice-chair and lily development chair, while Waddell was slated to take over sponsorship.

The event has not only been a major tourist draw for the town, it infused a substantial amount of cash into the local economy, organizers say.

“I think it’s a mistake for the community, and it’s certainly very sad,” Waddell said.

Last month, Waddell said last year’s event was the “best ever.”

 

— Brandon Sun