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Chamber Funding

Meadow Lake Chamber of Commerce receives $6,500 in grants from parks and recreation

May 18, 2021 | 3:03 PM

The Meadow Lake & District Chamber of Commerce has received two grants with a combined value of $6,500 from the Meadow Lake parks and recreation department.

Each year, the parks and recreation department, along with every other community and rural municipality in the province, receives funding from Sask. Lotteries. The funding is intended to help support communities. The money is usually handled by entities that oversee community events and services, and left to them to decide how the money should be allocated.

Trevor Dignean, administrator for the Meadow Lake Chamber of Commerce, said $1,500 will be directed toward this year’s Culture Days event, while the remaining cash is expected to assist with Canada Day programming.

“We’ve only done one event, because COVID shut it down last year. The year before, we had booked North West College Gymnasium, and we had at least 10 cultures in there. We had Flying Dust First Nation, Ukrainian, Filipino, all different cultures. They showcased foods, arts and it was a great event. It seemed well received, it was full and we’d probably want to move to a bigger venue this time,” Dignean said.

This year’s Canada Day programming is expected to take place in both Meadow Lake and Flying Dust First Nation, with Flying Dust covering half of the costs associated with the event. Dignean added Flying Dust has been supportive of Meadow Lake’s events for quite some time, and he believes the two communities should continue to host these inclusive occasions moving forward.

“They’ve been very supportive of any event we’ve asked them about, and the two communities should focus on putting things together because basically, we’re all one community,” he said. “You get out of Meadow Lake, and you’re in Flying Dust. As far as I’m concerned, we’re all one community. The more things we can do with the inclusion of both groups is better for everyone.”

Park and recreation Manager Regan Beck stated the chamber, along with the other organizations receiving funding, make significant contributions to the community that leave a lasting impact on residents in the region, leading to them being awarded with these grants.

“It’s an opportunity for some good organizations to receive some very much-needed funding. Anything we can build on during COVID years is great news for the community and surrounding area,” Beck said. “Their impact reaches almost everyone in the community, not just in Meadow Lake, but the surrounding communities as well. We’re very happy to support them in any way we can.”

Details regarding these events will be released as they become available later this year.

elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp

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