Continuing with their recent fundraising push despite the cancelled festival, Canada's National Ukrainian Festival is having a Fundraising BBQ on August 22nd.
It'll take place at the Dauphin Marketplace Mall, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Cory Lafontaine, CNUF Third Vice President, said fundraisers like these, especially local ones, just make sense: it's their way to show the community they're fully dedicated to keeping the festival going.
"We're getting so much support from the community, of course not only from Dauphin and the surrounding area, but all of our people, all of our patrons that attend the festival pretty much all across Canada, they're letting us know that they appreciate the festival, and they feel the same way we do, they feel sad that there is no festival this year...we figure that we still have to connect with our patrons, especially those local, right here in our own community, so we thought, let's do a little BBQ fundraiser. That's coming up on Saturday, August 22nd, it's between 11 and 3," said Lafontaine.
The BBQ fundraiser's timing also gives it another great meaning for the festival. It's just before Ukrainian Independenc Day on August 24th. Lafontaine said it's a good way to keep CNUF connected to its roots.
"Now this is of course in support of Canada's National Ukrainian Festival, also Ukrainian Independence Day as well. Nice little tie-in for that," said Lafontaine.
Despite the festival's cancellation because of uncertainty around healthcare and ambulances, the festival has received an outpouring of support. Many people were saddened by the news that CNUF was cancelled this year, but Lafontaine said these fundraisers are a great way to ensure the festival comes back even better in 2027.
