The North Island Music Festival was another smashing success for Port McNeill’s Gate House Theatre this year.
The Gate House noted in a news release that it wanted to express “our gratitude to the approximately 175 businesses and community leaders that supported us financially by being sponsors,” and in addition to that, “we’re proud to report another 115 people and organizations provided items for auction.”
The theatre then said a heartfelt thank you to all of the 87 energetic volunteers who stepped up to help ensure the music festival would happen, as well as “all of our North Island local musicians, they really delivered a first class show.”
“The addition of the dance party in the community hall was a great success, being attended by nearly 200 people who danced till the wee hours in the morning,” added the Gate House.
The theatre ended up receiving funding from three levels of government to help make the festival a reality, namely, the Town of Port McNeill, the province, and the Regional District of Mount Waddington.
When asked to comment, Gate House president Gord Oppen said he personally felt the highlight of this year‘s festival was when a couple from California who were visiting on their boat decided to come and attend the festival.
“They were so impressed by our community and our focus on creating a family friendly gathering, on their way back to their yacht they wrote a check to the Gate House for $1,000 to support our efforts,” noted Oppen. “We also received a donation from two visiting German musicians who were also impressed with our focus on promoting arts and culture.”
As for any complaints, Oppen joked they received only one over the weekend, which was “from Sointula — the individual had commented that the music was so loud they were unable to hear the whales blow as they went by.”
As for what’s next, the Gate House noted it’s time to try and engage a whole new generation of people so that the annual festival will continue to carry forward.
“We would like to form a committee specifically focused on the festival,” stated the Gate House. “If you are passionate about helping to deliver this event in the years coming, we will be hosting a meeting in the near future to try and engage the next generation of North Island volunteers to take our North Island Music Festival to the next level.”
The theatre is interested in starting a discussion on the merits of considering if the North Island Music Festival should span Friday and Saturday in future years, instead of just being one day.
All funds raised at the North Island Music Festival go towards sustaining the Gate House Theatre and its programs which benefit all ages within the community and all forms of artistic expression.
