Fort St John city council unanimously voted to sponsor two upcoming community events during their July 14 regular council meeting.
In both cases, the city cited the boost in tourism and community morale.
“As a sponsorship, this draws a massive crowd of city residents. For us to be able to do our little part to ensure something like this continues, I think it’s a good think,” said city councillor Trevor Bolin.
The first sponsorship for the day, worth $6,000, was for the Fort St John International Airshow – taking place in early August.
City staff recommended council approve the sponsorship request because it would support a local group, the Fort St John International Airshow Society, it also matches the city’s previous decisions to support the airshow.
In 2022, the city provided a $40,000 grant to the airshow society for the event.
Later in the meeting, the council was presented with their second sponsorship opportunity – this time for the North Peace Fall Fair, who requested $5,000 from the city.
The agricultural fair takes place in mid-August and, like the airshow, is hosted by a not-for-profit organization.
Councillors obliged to the recommendation from their city staff to accept the sponsorship opportunity as it is in line with the previous two years’ sponsorship prices, which cost the same amount.
