From:

Osoyoos Fireworks

Osoyoos Elks

Osoyoos Music in the Park/ Piano in the Park

Osoyoos Festival Society

Osoyoos Market on Main

Cactus Jalopies

Re: Community Events Concerns

 

We are concerned. We produce successful events in this Town which increasingly challenge our ability to deliver.

 

Our events are volunteer produced. We are collectively concerned that our volunteers are not only “burning out” but they are “aging out”. We need to work smarter, not harder. Cactus Jalopies is cancelled for 2020 which is a huge loss.

We do not want this to start a trend and are trying to come up with a way for this event to continue.

This not only affects the public but hotels, restaurants, wineries, etc. Once this event is cancelled for a year it is difficult to bring it back! To continue to produce our respective events, we are in need of more cooperation and more involvement from those who benefit from our events; our Town, local businesses and our citizens. We have done preliminary research on how similar events are run in comparable communities; none are strictly volunteer driven.

Therefore, we request Mayor and Council to ask key staff,

Destination Osoyoos,

Osoyoos & District Arts Council and

Business Leaders to meet with us to problem solve this situation ASAP.

We have already discussed the issues amongst ourselves and identified some solutions.  We look forward to your cooperation.

These groups meet with Osoyoos Council Monday (in committee).