Sustainival, the World’s First Green Carnival, might not be returning to Fort McMurray this summer.
Council decided during budget deliberations on Feb. 7 to not fulfill Sustainival’s request of $125,000.
“There are lots of small businesses in Fort McMurray who are suffering probably, maybe even worse than Sustainival. I know it is a hard decision, it is a great event for families to go to but a lot of families couldn’t even go because ticket prices were so high. So it was just something I couldn’t agree with.” said Councillor Verna Murphy, who put the motion forward.
Murphy’s motion was carried unanimously.
The money Sustainval was asking for was for green initiatives or public awareness.
“They were using the money we gave them to come up here and educate the public on how to sustain the environment better,” said Murphy. “That is a duplication for us, we already have our own educational programs in place. Why would we pay a company not from Fort McMurray to do that for us again?”
In a press release on Thursday, Sustainival said the municipal funding is still needed to provide the educational aspect of the event.
The midway portion of Sustainival is a for profit operation. Money spent on tickets is split 70-30 between the owner of the ride and Sustainival.
With the uncertainty of the event, planning hasn’t been able to start. If the funding does come through the event will be planned in a rush, similar to 2016.
The final budget meeting is Feb. 27.
