Prince George residents can prepare to celebrate Canada Day at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park this year; an event that has been organized and hosted by the Prince George Multicultural Heritage Society for 49 years.
For more than 30 of those years, the event has been organized by the society’s coordinator, Marlies Greulich, who has been volunteering with the local Canada Day celebrations since 1976.
“It has been my greatest honour to get to be a part of our community’s celebration of our multicultural and
diverse country; Canada,” said Greulich. “When I came to Canada from Germany in 1968, me and others
founded the local German club and got involved in a lot of events and activities such as the local Canada Day celebrations. Over the past 30 years since I’ve been the coordinator, the event has evolved and changed. Coming out of the pandemic, our organization and our members have been struggling to put together the same event that our community knows and has loved so much due to a number of factors. Those hurdles include: a loss of volunteers, a loss of connections with service providers, increased costs, among others. So, that is why this year we have asked for help and are extremely grateful for a few folks who have stepped up last minute to help our organization make this festival happen in just five weeks from now.”
The board of directors for the Multicultural Heritage Society approved the plans for the festival to move forward with the support of this volunteer group at its meeting on Tuesday night. President of the board, Patrick Pocha said: “We are proud of the work we have been able to accomplish under Marlies’ leadership for the past 30 years and beyond, however with the challenges we are facing, like many other organizations coming out of the pandemic, we are very grateful to receive a hand this year to help make this one of our biggest and best celebrations yet.”
The Multicultural Heritage Society has funded past Canada Day celebrations with grants provided from city, provincial and federal government, and they have continued to receive this funding in 2022. In the past, they have also sought corporate and local business sponsorship to cover the costs above and beyond what the grants covered. As with many organizations and events, the past two years severely impacted the way they have traditionally planned this long-time Prince George event, especially with the rising costs and loss of contacts.
This includes the groups who often fill the stage with performances, food vendors, sponsors, and local artists, many of whom have lost significant membership over the past two years. With a plea to the community last week stating how close they were to cancelling the planned celebrations, a number of folks in the community came together to volunteer and provide at no cost their event and business experience, talents, and services to support the society in hosting this year’s event in a successful manner.
This group of individuals includes Dave Mothus of Hell Yeah Prince George and Mothus Financial, Aimee Cassie of Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, Kyle Sampson of Kyle Sampson Productions Inc., Craig Briere of the Kodiaks Football Club and Prestige Hotels, and Dawna Varley of the Knights of Columbus Society and BC Day in the Park.
“Our entire group is excited and keen to step up and help Marlie’s and the Multicultural Heritage Society in their time of need,” said Kyle Sampson, volunteer. “This event is so important, and each of us [the volunteer supporters] recognize and appreciate how challenging the past two years have been for so many, especially @CanadaDayPG #CanadaDayPG non-profits and societies like the Multicultural Heritage Society, and we just want to do our part to help them out this year to make sure they regain their contacts and re-engage the community in a positive way.”
This team of individuals have engaged countless local businesses to gain their support through sponsorship to enhance the grants provided by government. Sponsors include:
- ENTERTAINMENT SPONSOR: Kopar Administration – 25th Anniversary
- KIDS ZONE SPONSOR: Canadian Tire
- FOOD PAVILION SPONSOR: Aaron Switzer – Remax Core Realty
- VOLUNTEER SPONSOR: Ridgeline Corp
- MARKET SPONSOR: *STILL AVAILABLE*
- FIREWORKS SPONSOR: *STILL AVAILABLE*
- FUNDING PARTNERS: City of Prince George | Canadian Heritage Grant | Province of BC
CANADA DAY SUPPORTERS:
• Wood Wheaton Supercentre
• Hub City Volkswagen
• Kullar Homes
• Teeter Tots Early Learning Center
• Columbus Community Centre
• PG Recycling & Return-It Center
• KKS Tactical Supplies
• Northern Institute of Dance
• Visa Truck Rentals
• Pattison Media (101.3 The River, 99.3 Rewind Radio, CKPGtoday.ca)
• Vista Radio (Country 97fm, 94.3 The Goat, My PG Now)
• Mothus Financial
• Kyle Sampson Productions Inc.
*Limited Number Still Available*
The celebrations kick off at 11a.m. and run through 9 p.m. Friday July 1. Further schedule to come.
Those businesses or organizations interested in sponsoring the event can reach out via email to:
CanadayDayPG@gmail.com
Market vendors, artisans, and crafters can also reach out to CanadaDayPG@gmail.com to book your space. Artists, musicians, entertainers, cultural performers, and food vendors that are interested in participating can reach out to Kyle Sampson at kyle@kylesampson.ca or 250-649-9231