Sorry sport, but Jack Frost doesn't love our family

Yes - they were looking for volunteers the other day to shore up the rain-sodden maze, and were offering event passes to them. There were lots of volunteers in evidence last night doing things such as security, sanding of icy surfaces, etc. I expect all received event passes. Volunteering is certainly one way for those who cannot afford the full admission price to gain free entry passes.

Yes Alan…like Stratford’s Winter Festival!

Next year, why not organize a fund to provide low coat tickets to people who can’t afford them. Or give tickets to all the students at Prince Street school…That would cost less than $3000 and I’ll bet you could get people to donate. The idea of getting the poor children to work to “earn” their admission might be a little insensitive.

I do agree that it is expensive for a family to attend the event (that’s part of the reason we decided not to purchase passes this year), but compared to the 1 hour children’s concert that was held recently at the Confed Centre for about the same price, it seems like a bargain. I just checked the Confed Centre schedule - the show was Little Bear and it cost $15 per person and was 60 minutes long. Now that seems like a lot of money for a very short show!

I don’t recall seeing the event billed as “community friendly”. It’s a children’s festival, sponsored by a number of corporate entities to help keep the price within reach. As for the expensive food, we ate elsewhere. For those looking for free events, Charlottetown, Stratford and Cornwall all offer a variety of carnivals and festivals throughout the year, but, as they say “you get what you pay for” and none of them compare to this event for quality entertainment at a fair price. Jack Frost continues to be one of the best values around, offering three days of entertainment at four venues for just $14 a person. Some of this year’s highlights for us included the “planatarium in a tent” at the Science Fair, and hours of Lego fun at the mall. Neither of these were overly commercialized and were both fun and educational. By way of comparison, a 2 1/2 hour PEI Rocket game at the government-subsidized Civic Centre cost the three of us $39 recently. Monster Trucks at the same venue, should we be so inclined, would cost the three of us $61.25. The Moscow Circus, coming up in a few days at the government-subsidized Confederation Centre of the Arts, would cost two adults and a child a whopping $105! By the way, today was particularly enjoyable, with short lines due to the departure of most of the New Brunswickans for the Fixed Link, and the weather was the best this festival has ever experienced (I’ve been every year, and we’ll be back).

It’s becoming clear to me now that what has happened here is this: The City of Charlottetown has, in essence, privatized its mid-winter celebration, outsourcing it to an tourism industry-controlled body over which the City extends little if any influence. Unfortunately this was done without any requirement that the private body that’s running the festival pay any heed to things that a public body should pay attention to: for example ensuring that the event is inclusive of all income levels. It’s hard to hold the private body at fault here — they are more like the Coca-Cola company trying to get everyone to drink Coke than they are “community group” and clearly their objectives don’t include a social justice component. Clearly the responsibility for working towards a more equitable event lies with the City; it’s unclear, however, if the City has enough means at its disposal — leverage, if you will — to effect changes.

I grew up in Charlottetown during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s and early 1990s… I still have fond memories of sitting in the ice-cold Simmons Arena, waiting for the mascot dog Charlie Town, or watching an old-timers hockey game with my Dad over at the old Charlottetown Forum. I also remember skating with hundreds (possibly thousands?) of people on the harbour ice off the Victoria Park cannons, taking sleigh rides (which were free - I was just on the phone with my parents reminiscing) and taking part in nature hikes snowshoeing in Victoria Park where a biologist pointed out many things to several dozen or more kids tripping and falling over themselves behind him. Peter raises a very good point regarding the obscenity that the Jack Frost Festival has become - in contrast the Charlottetown Winter Carnival was designed around the people in the community and was unpretentious and it was never designed to be expensive in the first place and it was never designed to make money and fill hotel rooms. If we had a mild week one February, things moved indoors to the arenas and curling club, otherwise it was held outdoors. Perhaps organizers at Tourism Charlottetown of the present-day incarnation are banking on provincial funding and lots of out-of-town visitors to justify paying year-round salaries for marketing staff, and perhaps these same organizers are pointing out that the old Charlottetown Winter Carnival was much too amateurish for the “Birthplace of Confederation” (which is aiming to punch above the belt for its weight class), and perhaps these organizers also note that kids in the 2000s have changed - they are the Internet generation and don’t play outdoors, like everything to be structured, they don’t have parents around at home very often, etc. etc. so the Jack Frost Festival is not a money-making venture, but rather, a service to families…. Sure. Just can the big hoopla and bring back the original carnival. Or can the fees. Notice that Quebec City’s winter carnival doesn’t charge fees just to be there? There are small fees for certain attractions, but you are free to walk around in PUBLIC SPACE without any charge in that city. http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/en/ Not so for the publicly owned Confederation Landing Park. Kudos to those advocates who have been after the city for hosting fee-based activities in Victoria Park. I live in Nova Scotia now and have had several opportunities to return to Ch’town to work, but the place just isn’t the same as it was in the 1980s. That intimacy is lost forever as the urban area has doubled or tripled in size since then. I would urge civic leaders to attempt to return some of that back to the city and bring back the community-oriented activities for CHARLOTTETOWNERS. Not everything must be done for tourists or non-city residents or the almighty dollar. Bring back the community focus and you might get a heck of a lot more ex-pats such as myself returning on a permanent basis as well.

I think the tourism establishment were also part of the group pushing the HST which would have resulted in higher costs on home heating fuel. electricity, clothing and shoes which would have had the most negative impact on poorer Islanders who would have had to pay out a higher percentage of their income for such necessities and am sure many working Islanders who are quite poor and consequently have poorer children may work in many of the low wage accomodation/food service and other categories which also cater to tourists. I do not think the tourism establishment who promote The Jack Frost and some other related festivals think of the have/have not divide they are creating re admission to such events. It is likely the farthest thing from their minds.