As I was sitting with the Shrine units waiting for the Islendingadagurinn parade to start under a somewhat cloudy sky, I was reading an excellent article in the Express dated July 28 by Autumn Fehr about The Gimli International Film Festival. A great idea and a wonderful draw for Gimli and Manitoba, the film festival has grown in scope and popularity over the past 21 years, attracting sponsor and grants, and thousands of excited film-goers. These large and complex events need hundreds of volunteers working behind the scenes for weeks even before the event. I doffed my fez in admiration to all who made the film festival possible.

 

My mind wandered back 50 years to August 7th, 1972. That was the first year the Icelandic Festival expanded into a 3-day affair. (See the full story "Islendingadagurinn" at memoriesfromthelake.com.) The committee members were all gainfully employed with young families and the festival had little money to work with, so everything was done on a shoestring budget. But everyone was so enthusiastic to make our experiment work that they volunteered countless hours, came up with new ideas and worked together like a well-oiled machine. In my experience, volunteers are some of the most highly motivated and innovative people you will ever meet.

 

As we worked though the inevitable issues that arise when you are trying something new, in that first year I do not think anyone would have imagined that the expanded 3-day Icelandic Festival would still be the format 50 years later. Or how much it would grow, now drawing 30 to 50 thousand visitors to the town annually.

 

From the first Icelandic Festival in 1890 (Winnipeg) through the move to Gimli in 1932 and the many changes and improvements along the way, much respect is due to the people with the vision to make the festival a ‘happening’ that people would want to attend. Mayors, councils, people of Gimli and District, local merchants, sponsors, RCMP, and countless others, have worked hard year after year to grow the Festival and should all be very proud of their efforts. And most especially, all the volunteers over the many years who willingly gave up their personal time to make the Festival the terrific event that it is. Great job everyone!

 

Ken Kristjanson

August 2022

 

Check out the Islendingadagurinn website - https://www.icelandicfestival.com/

Check out the Gimli International Film Festival site - https://gimlifilm.com/