October 2003 - Nr. 10
Letter to the Editor
AlpineFest 2003 – What Happened?
Dear friends and Colleagues of the German/Austrian/Swiss Communities.
We are now at the end of summer, again…where did the time go. I sincerely appreciated the number of calls that I received over the past few weeks about "Why isn’t the German/Austrian/Swiss Community not a feature for the l25th Anniversary of the CNE with AlpineFest 2003? You deserve to know.
I was very pleased with the outcome of the event in 2002…I really had to smile, when I heard, that this was the first time that the Labatt’s beer garden ran out of beer…actually, that was a proud moment…I can still visualize the beer garden and the wonderful ‘Stimmung’! I thank each and everyone that attended the event on August 24, 2002.
The ‘Stimmung’ would not be possible without your attendance and great spirit!
The reason that I decided to decline this year was primarily to reposition this event, and to see if the German/Austrian/Swiss business community would commit some financial assistance to this important cultural event. As you may or may not know, my profession is sales/marketing and event planning. However, when you work with the corporate world, there is always a budget and financial dollars are there to ensure a successful event. I am not saying that money makes the event; it is the enthusiasm, energy, and good spirit of all the communities that came together to put on a wonderful show for you I can’t thank them enough for the support they extended to me over the two years. The CNE over the past few years contributed great support as well, all the sound and lighting equipment, labour and a budget. You can imagine all the multicultural groups we have in our city, so the CNE provides financial support to be fair and equal to all groups.
The rest of the finances come down to community. I don’t know if you had an opportunity to see the other cultural shows, but I can honestly state, when I reviewed the Asian show…the financial support from the business community was second to none. I wish someone could tell me why it is so challenging within our thriving community. This is a very crucial element to the growth of the event. With the strong community we have in Toronto, I was disappointed with the financial sponsorship I received. In fact, the only financial support, being dollars given, came from Sauter’s Inn Restaurant in Pickering. This is unbelievable to me, when one sends out approximately l25 letters to the German/Austrian/Swiss business community and receives no positive response. To be very frank, last year, the attendance doubled from the previous year, and we enhanced the show…however, the cost to do that, my company topped those additional costs. Honestly, I did not mind doing this, as I believe in my heritage very strongly…however, from a business point, this does not make good sense. I will always be a sponsor of this event, but to take on the entire depth of the costs is honestly not fair…I am sure you would agree. On top of that, the numerous hours and other business that one displaces…my question to myself was ‘Gaby, is this a good business move’. Unfortunately not.
I would entertain the thought again for 2004 if the CNE wishes to go this direction, however, it would only be possible, if there is some financial support from the business community.
Once again, thank you to all the communities that were involved last year, I couldn’t have done it without your support…may be we can do it again in 2004…
Sincere Greetings to you All!
Gaby Schick
President
Hospitality Connections
Producer of the 2002 Alpine Fest
