CCFM to receive provincial funding boost

St. Boniface

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This article was published 01/05/2024 (813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A cultural hub at the heart of the city’s francophone community received a funding injection from the Province of Manitoba as part of this year’s budget.

According to a news release, Centre culturel franco-manitobain’s annual funding has been frozen since 2011 at $419,000. In Budget 2024, the provincial government increased the centre’s operating budget by $387,000, to $806,000.

Ginette Lavack, CCFM’s executive director, expects the funding will have a stabilizing effect: “It will back us up and help us maintain the levels we’ve established. Moving forward — how do we expand and grow?”

Lavack said balancing the books is an ongoing effort, not least because the centre, located at 340 Provencher Blvd., must maintain a large facility and provide programming for a broad demographic.

Expressing her delight about the boost, Lavack said the pandemic “strangely helped us experiment with programming.” She now hopes to continue that progression, which has included the creation of Patio 340 — which is, seasonally, both an indoor and outdoor music venue.

“It feels tremendous,” Lavack said. “There’s a level of relief that comes with this announcement.”

Significantly, CCFM is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it has held different events so far this year, and there are several more on the horizon before the end of 2024.

Recent examples include Le Rire Zone on April 11 — a show featuring local comedians whose acts were tailored to the 50th anniversary milestone, and a 50 Years of Music concert on April 19, which featured more than 20 francophone artists.

St. Boniface MLA Robert Loiselle has a close connection to the centre. His father, Lucien, was president of CCFM for a stint in the 1980s.

“In regards to the francophone community in Manitoba, and this goes back 50 years — it needed a cultural centre to call its own,” Loiselle said, noting CCFM is a centrepiece of the Franco-Manitoban community.

“I grew up there,” he added. “It’s such a cultural hub, whether it’s music or theatre, or events such as Festival du Voyageur or Folklorama. Every community has to have a gathering place to call home. When you walk into the centre, it’s a space to speak French and be served in French. It’s kind of a beating heart in St. Boniface, like the Université de Saint-Boniface and our local schools.”

Visit ccfm.mb.ca for more information.