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Feast or famine for fundraisers, fun in crowded central Alberta market

June has certainly been a busy month for fundraisers and community events — again.

June has certainly been a busy month for fundraisers and community events — again.

Feast or famine.

Every year, it seems that this month is the busiest for events, which is actually hurting each other.

After four strong years of support, why did the Relay for Life cancer fundraiser take a big hit this year?

Are too many fundraisers and events within a few weeks in a month thinning out volunteers and wearing out the chequebook?

Starting next year, the Canadian Cancer Society will schedule Relay for Life to September, when the calendar has just a fraction of events that June has.

Why do organizations seem to plan so many activities in June that people will likely pick and choose where they go.

Then comes July, with seemingly no activities and many people twiddling their thumbs and saying there’s nothing to do.

Could these spring events be scheduled in a month other than June so that the community is not so saturated.

Then, this year, another group scheduled another fundraiser in June, which some people believe might have cut into another major fundraiser this month.

Many of the community events deserve coverage, but with so many activities on the same week or weekend, some will have to settle for a lower profile.

If you want strong community support, schedule your event when that’s the only show in town.

Father’s Day weekend seems to be the big weekend of all. Last weekend, I alone covered two events in Stettler and one in Alix.

It’s not just local communities with full calendars ... it’s almost an epidemic in central Alberta.

Throughout the central region last weekend alone, people could have gone to five or six show and shines and just as many community parades.

When mayors are invited to those parades, some communities will have to settle for councillors. With so many events, it seems pretty difficult to attend and support them all. If organizations question where all the people and support is, definitely pick another weekend, and probably another month.

It really makes a person wonder why these towns and community organizations can’t work together to prevent this problem of feast and famine.

Earlier this year, groups in Bashaw initiated a concept where presidents meet early in the year to schedule events for the year to ensure events co-operate and not compete with each other. Afterward, the events were evenly planned for throughout the year.

That strategy is proving to be effective in Bashaw, so it should work here in Stettler and other central Alberta communities.

— Froese’n Time