Rhino's Ramblings - Motif Cancels As The Feelings Leak Out
By Robert Thomas - Opinion/Commentary
It started out as a Facebook posting that ended up as a news story on a larger Moose Jaw media source as news that quickly disappeared into oblivion but not before more than a few people read it.
If you do not know what I am talking about it is the cancellation of Motif - the local multicultural showcase festival for 2022 and potentially forever.
And the person who is running Motif’s Facebook account is laying blame for the cancellation on COVID -= as they could not meet the grant application deadlines - and more bluntly right squarely on Sidewalk Days - the annual outdoor Downtown business showcase.
Another festival that itself was facing its own imminent demise about a decade back.
The notice from Motif’s Facebook page is below.
Cancelation notice Motif’s Facebook page Credit - Facebook
I will be honest and upfront and tell you right now I personally fall into one of those small ethnic groups that made up Motif - in fact I worked more than a few hours at a booth to help the festival along.
People might ask how is it that Sidewalk Days took over Motif’s weekend?
Well if you go back a few years we had Canada’s 150th birthday and to help celebrate it in a fashion that tied Sidewalk Days into the big Canadian birthday the one year move to what was traditionally seen as Motif’s weekend was made.
The effect upon Motif that year was, for a want of a better word, verging on a disaster when it came to attendance. And there was a lot of angry talk why it had been done. And yes a couple of groups made 30 percent of what they usually bring in.
People working 15 hour days - many for 10 days - saw their efforts to earn money to do their cultural stuff go into the deep freeze. Worse yet the opportunity to showcase not just their culture, but Moose Jaw’s growing diversity, was lost that year.
Officially it was suppose to be a temporary thing but it quickly turned into a permanent thing with Sidewalk Days staying - more or less - at what was “Motif’s weekend”. It was a major hit for Motif.
There is just no way that a small festival with small ethnic groups - some are just two families - with a major festival going on Downtown.
But was there more than this going on behind the scenes?
I am sad to say that yes there was. There was a move by the power to be at Sidewalk Days to make changes to Motif in a way which was unpalatable to a majority of the groups.
That change would have seen Motif basically absorbed into Sidewalk Days. Down scaled into the hot asphalt parking lot behind the Royal Bank. Something more than a few of the groups who make up Motif were opposed to. Hot asphalt compared to the shade and natural grass and cooling breezes that Happy Valley Park possess was simply unpalatable.
Motif would be allowed to have there entertainment and their food booths plus a couple of thousand dollars for their effort. It was rejected.
I actually wrote about it in a column at the time right here in MJ Independent.
In a June 3, 2018 column entitled The End Of Motif I mention in it the following line .
“To add insult to injury, someone from Sidewalk Days allegedly phoned over and offered Motif to set their stage up in the parking lot behind the Royal Bank.”
If you want to read the entire column click on the link.
But there were other underlying factors when it came to Motif and that is the festival had been officially announced as cancelled unilaterally by the executive only to see individual ethnic groups resurrect it.
The feeling was if you allowed Motif to be cancelled - even for one year - as a festival it was done.
I can tell you the year after Motif was seemingly cancelled the turnout at the annual event was massive and the cultural booths were swamped with hungry visitors and everything it seemed sold out.
Then came 2017 and the hit was massive for a lot of ethnic groups.
Someone asked me just before the COVID - 19 pandemic if I was participating in Motif and I like more than a few people simply volunteered to help out at Regina’s Mosaic or at Saskatoon’s Folkfest.
And really personally when I thought about it, if I want to experience and express my ethnic background I can just go abroad and do that. In today’s world of commercial jet travel I actually had a $100 annual membership for one of Odessa’s art associations and attended more than a few live events.
While living in Moose Jaw.
It is good to see some of the groups that made up Motif are still striving to showcase their various cultures whether it be holding local events or traveling elsewhere in the province.
Will Motif be back next year?
Sorry I cannot say but I can tell you the festival was more than simply a place to go to listen to entertainment as well as eat your fair share of exotic foods. Motif offered the opportunity to show to everyone Moose Jaw is made up of many different cultures.
When you think about it on that level it is pretty sad to see it go if only for a couple of years.