Keg hosts online contest
It’s possible the Keg Steak House will make arts and cultural endeavours in the Okanagan an A-1 deal this summer with a hefty donation.
The Canadian restaurant chain is offering up $25,000 for a community project and both Kelowna’s Parks Alive! program and local singer/songwriter Ryan Donn have entered the online contest.
“It would just give us a little bit of freedom to bring more artists out to the community,” said Renata Mills, director of Festivals Kelowna, the society that runs Parks Alive.
The free program offers concerts in parks all over the city, in many cases allowing those who cannot afford to go to a live venue a chance to experience talent from the area that they might otherwise have missed.
Though Mills could not easily say how much the $25,000 would represent in relation to the Festivals Kelowna budget, she did say it would likely give her team a chance to bring in some larger acts and bring more acts out of the downtown core and into local neighbourhoods.
“We would also be able to create a living legacy of our summer concerts through an online audio record on our website,” said Mills.
Ironically, the program’s only competitor on the arts and cultural front, Donn, has only just stepped down as president of Festivals Kelowna’s board of directors.
Donn is looking to fund two projects he’s been working on, a songs in the classroom endeavour and his Global Music Fest.
He didn’t find out about the Festivals Kelowna bid until it was time to roll with his own entry.
“I just said, oh well, it’s two things close to my heart,” he said, noting he would be happy to see Parks Alive receive the money as well.
Both teams apparently have an agreement to vote for one another daily, they said, but ultimately need a lot of public support to secure the funds.
“What it’s doing, is it’s just raising the profile of things that are worth giving to in the community,” Donn added.
For the bulk of this year, he has been helping local students write and record their own music.
Global Music Fest pairs local non-profit organizations with artists and talent from around the valley in a large concert event. Donn is hoping to eventually get the artists working with the non-profit sector as he grows the event.
To help either contestant win the bid, go to www.kegsteakhouse.com and register to vote.
jsmith@kelownacapnews.com
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