Every September since 1991, downtown Fredericton comes alive with musicians and artists. They bring together the city for the Harvest Music Festival.
However, last year the festival was cut short for the last two days due to Hurricane Lee. This event not only stopped people from enjoying performances, but it also hurt the non-profit festival financially.
Courtney Steeves is the general manager of the Harvest Music Festival, and acknowledges the considerable financial loss the organization felt from Lee.
“You know, we lost one whole day of sales,” said Steeves. “It was an impact for sure.”
Harvest Music Festival did not let Lee set them back.
Steeves said the organization was able to find relief compensation through different ‘funding bodies’ after the festival cancellation. Harvest kindly asked ticket holders if they would donate their ticket money to the organization, rather than receiving a full refund.
“This festival is such an important piece of the tourism of New Brunswick that they recognized they wanted to support us so that we could go again this year,” said Steeves. “We had a huge uptake on that, which was incredible.”
Following this experience, Harvest is ready to come back stronger than ever. Steeves said the organization has risk mitigation processes in place for all sorts of crises that could come down the line.
“In the end, we prepare for challenges … and when challenges come, we face them head on and come to solutions,” said Steeves.
Alejandra Baca is a third-year student at St. Thomas University who attended STU’s student Harvest night last year and this year.
“I think my favourite part is that it’s just a really cool environment, because you have all the food trucks and you have all the vendors, and musicians and entertainment happening on the street,” said Baca.
Steeves said that ‘enthusiasm is at an all time high’ for this year’s festival, and the organization is focusing on delivering the best experience for patrons and the community.
“We’ve had some great ticket sales this week, because people are really pumped about the weather,” said Steeves.
In addition to this increased excitement, the City of Fredericton finished the renovation of Officers Square this past June. Now, this space hosts a variety of events, including some Harvest performances this year.
“We have a really great partnership with the city, and they’ve done an amazing job on the landscaping,” said Steeves.
“We are excited to be in this new, transformed space, bringing Fredericton an unforgettable experience.”
