Parksville city council will consider contributing $2,500 as the entertainment sponsor again for the 2012 Beach Festival and Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition.
Parksville’s big summer event will kick off July 13, 2012, with the exhibition running to August 12, but the society decided not to undertake the Big Entertainment Weekend again.
Rather than the single weekend with a special stage, sound equipment and extra entertainer costs which went over budget, the board decided to focus on smaller scale ongoing entertainment again like buskers in the gazebo.
Despite miserable weather for the sand sculpting opening weekend, the month long exhibition attracted almost 83,000 visitors last year.
Aside from in-kind contributions like preparing the park, the city contributed $2,500 cash for the first time last year to sponsor the entertainment weekend. Staff will bring a report on the request to council’s upcoming budget meetings for consideration.