After three very successful and expanding festivals, the management committee of Hay Days Festival has made the decision to postpone the next festival and celebrate the 10th year of events from July 6th – 10th, 2021.
The committee of “the South Slave’s premiere music, arts and cultural festival” noted in a press release that a number of key management roles were vacated due to personal commitments. They added that several new members have joined the ranks to begin learning the hundreds of tasks involved under each of the committee leads.
“We believe wholeheartedly in the festival and wants to ensure a diverse and high-quality series of events to celebrate the 10th year and are therefore taking additional time to bring all committee members up to speed with the organizational requirements while allowing additional time for planning of this milestone celebration with a goal of many more festival releases in the future.”
Hay Days Festival events were transitioned and undertaken as a project of the Rotary Club of Hay River Sunrise in 2017 following a one-year festival hiatus in 2016 taken by the dedicated and small core group of volunteers of the previous Hay Days.
From 2017 to 2019 the festival quickly grew into a five-day celebration with an operating budget of approximately $160,000 and a group of over 60 volunteers. Local, Territorial and National funding partners and sponsors have been instrumental in the growth and success of the festival.
Hay Days Festival 2019 showcased more than 70 NWT musicians and 15 NWT artisans through over 40 musical, arts and performing arts workshops for all ages, 2 artisan markets, 7 performance venues and several free public events including the Street Fest & Corporate Art Attack and the Community Beach Party & BBQ provided by the Hay River Elks Club.
The committee says their website and social media will be updated in the coming weeks with additional information from the committee. For more information, you can visit their website or Facebook page.
