Manroc promises generous donation for Wadgefest
Corporate donor steps up to support non-profits
by Karina Hunter
Organizers of Manitouwadge’s Wadgefest ’09, kicking off Friday with the Manitouwadge General Hospital’s 50th anniversary celebrations, were incredibly happy to share news that local mining contractor, Manroc Development Inc., has agreed to take their sponsorship of the festival to an entirely new level.
Events planned for the weekend include a horseshoe tournament, community bonfire with free marshmallows courtesy of the Manitouwadge Volunteer Firefighters, a golf tournament, community barbecue & beach day, lob ball tournament, and of course a parade. It is this last event, the parade being held Saturday August 7th at 11am that will most significantly benefit from new details in regards to Manroc’s sponsorship. The mining contractor has promised to give any non-profit organization participating in the parade $10/person participating in their float. Participants must be costumed to match either the theme of their float or in their non-profit organization uniform and ride/walk with their float for the entire parade route to earn the $10 a head donation but these are the only stipulations. In a community hit hard by mine closures and forest industry downsizing, where fundraising dollars are becoming more difficult to find, this announcement has every non-profit organization in town racing to make floats and contact their members to participate.
The organizing committee of Wadgefest ’09, incredibly consisting of only 5 members, held their last official meeting tonight; finalizing preparations to ensure all events will run smoothly over the course of the weekend. The little community has not hosted an event of this size since 2004 when they celebrated the town’s 50th anniversary and excitement is palpable as visitors have already begun arriving.
Submitted to the Chronicle Journal 08.05.09
