Alberta has always been a community of volunteers, whether that is formally or informally. The last 10 days have been no different. The devastating floods in Southern Alberta have caused an outpouring of support and help; the Volunteer Alberta office even got a few inquiries from people wanting to volunteer.
I wanted to share one particular story that helps put to rest the famous Edmonton-Calgary rivalry, which has all but dissipated since the flood. Well, at least until hockey starts again.
The day the flood began marked the beginning of the Sled Island Music & Arts Festival, a weekend long independent festival hosted by various venues in downtown Calgary. Within hours of the festival being officially cancelled, organizers in Edmonton stepped up to host bands and would-be festival attendees in a new event called Shred Island. A one night event turned into a weekend long festival featuring 30 bands and hundreds of attendees all thanks to donated venues, food, alcohol and time.
Video: Sled Island Documentary Trailer
While this event didn’t ease the difficulty of those directly affected by the floods, displaced ticket holder passes were honoured at the Edmonton venues. It gave the bands that travelled across Canada to attend Sled Island the opportunity to still play a show and generate some revenue and provided a morale boost and a moment of normalcy for attendees.
For information on how you can help those affected by the flooding in Southern Alberta, visit the Government of Alberta’s flood website.
Lisa Michetti, Member Engagement Manager