Executive director job goes to longtime folkie
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/01/2024 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival has found a new executive director — one who just so happens to be a lifelong folkie.
Valerie Shantz will assume the top leadership position this month. Her appointment follows the departure of executive director Lynne Skromeda, who moved on to Manitoba Film and Music last summer as the organization’s CEO and film commissioner.
Shantz has spent much of her career in post-secondary administration — most recently as the senior strategic adviser at Red River College Polytechnic.
Supplied
Valerie Shantz will assume leadership of folk fest.
“My first act was really spent in arts and culture,” says Schantz, who holds a master’s degree in public administration and a degree in theatre and drama.
She was the founding executive director of Film Training Manitoba, the director of grant programs at the Manitoba Arts Council and a staffer with Winnipeg and Saskatoon fringe festivals. Shantz has served on the boards of the Winnipeg Arts Council, Winnipeg Art Gallery and Manitoba Theatre for Young People.
She sees similarities between the arts world and higher education.
“I feel like the skills are very similar,” she says. “Finding ways to work together positively and building a shared future together.”
Her immediate goals in her new role with the folk fest are to listen and learn from longtime staff members. She’s also keen to get involved in planning for the festival’s 50th anniversary next year.
“I’m interested in focusing on the quality of experience for our guests and our volunteers and our performers,” she says. “And also maintaining the positive spirit of the festival, that inclusive, kind community that gets built every July.”
Shantz attended the very first Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974 after moving to Manitoba with her family and has been a regular attendee ever since. She’s looking forward to gaining a new perspective on one of the province’s largest summer events.
The 49th annual festival takes place July 11-14 at Birds Hill Provincial Park.
— Eva Wasney
