Latest news with #QuidiVidiBrewery
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Save our Festival': Folk Arts Society works toward $140k fundraising goal
Board president of the N.L. Folk Arts Society, Julie Vogt, was thrilled to see Quidi Vidi Brewery packed full for the benefit concert. (Julia Israel/CBC) The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society is feeling more optimistic about its future after receiving an outpouring of support from the community. On April 19, the festival held a benefit concert to "Save Our Festival," at Quidi Vidi brewery. The brewery was packed full of guests and featured musical acts all day long. Board President Julie Vogt, who stepped out of retirement to volunteer for the society, was thrilled to see the community come together to support the festival. "It's not just about the money today," said Vogt. "It's also about community. Bringing the community together to support something that can't be lost in this province." Vogt is a former executive director of the Society. When she saw the financial problems the society was experiencing, Vogt said she felt it was important that she return and try to help it continue as much as she could. Knowing how important the N.L. Folk Festival is to the province, Vogt said before shutting the doors they should let the community decide if the festival should live on. "Look at this. It's packed. There's not a seat available," said Vogt. "People are here to support us, listen to this great music and have a party and say, 'yeah, you're gonna be around.'" Justin Fong, co-owner of Quidi Vidi Brewery, said he jumped at the chance to host the fundraising event. When he heard about its financial issues, he wanted to support the folk festival. "I couldn't really picture a Newfoundland summer without having a folk festival weekend," said Fong. $140k needed In January, the society announced they were having financial difficulties and as a result laid off 5 staffers. Folk band, The Old Contemporaries, played for three hours during the benefit concert to save the Folk Festival. (Julia Israel/CBC) Since then, Vogt said they were able to rehire their logistics coordinator, however the board members are still all volunteers. "We all felt that the rest needed to be volunteers until we can be assured that we are financially sound and delivering the products that we need to be delivering," said Vogt. She said she was also "gobsmacked" to see donations roll in from all over the world, including Switzerland and the United States. In a follow up email, Vogt said their goal was to raise $7,000 at the benefit concert. While they don't know the numbers yet, she expects they succeeded that goal due to the massive attendance. Their ultimate fundraising goal is $140,000, which they'll reach in two phases. Phase one involves fundraising $40,000 themselves, and phase two involves raising $100,000 from corporate and foundation sponsors. Vogt said the benefit concert puts them at around $30,000, and now, they have 10 days to raise the final $10,000 from private donors before moving on to phase two. Festival plans underway As for the festival, a date has been set for July 11-13, with passes going on sale April 30. Quidi Vidi Brewery co-owner, Justin Fong, says he can't imagine a summer without the Folk Festival. (Julia Israel/CBC) Despite the financial setbacks, Vogt said the event will be happening as performer deposits have already been sent. While the full festival lineup will be out April 23, Vogt said up and coming folk group Salt Beef Junkies will be opening up the festival. They will also be keeping the alcohol consumption rules the same as last year, with a license to drink alcohol in the entire main stage area. Fong also said he is excited for Quidi Vidi Brewery to have a beer tent at the festival for the fifth year in a row. "If ever you were going to buy a ticket to the folk festival, please let it be this year," said Vogt. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Getting rid of internal trade barriers requires a 'surgical approach,' says Furey
N.L. Premier Andrew Furey showed off a Newfoundland Chocolate Company chocolate bar as an example of some of the local products available in the province. (Mark Cumby/CBC) Newfoundland and Labrador's premier says he's all for more internal trade, but getting rid of long-standing barriers is easier said than done. While speaking with reporters earlier this week, Andrew Furey called internal trade "the billion-dollar bill on the floor that no one wants to pick up." "It's very difficult. It's historic. It's territorialism to a certain extent. It's not as straightforward as it appears," he said. "I think that we should all be, as premiers, looking to eliminate those barriers. But it is certainly not as easy as it sounds." As U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff rhetoric escalated over the past month, some of Canada's premiers have pointed to internal trade as one potential alternative to the U.S. market. On Thursday, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the four Atlantic premiers, asking them to dismantle trade barriers. The chamber's CEO, Rhonda Tulk-Lane, said she wants provincial and federal leaders to look at barriers they can eliminate quickly. "Businesses are blue in the face talking about cutting red tape," she said. Anita Anand, federal minister of transport and trade, has said eliminating internal trade barriers could lower prices by up to 15 per cent, increase productivity by up to seven per cent and add up to $200 billion to Canada's economy. Anita Anand told reporters in Halifax on Wednesday that Ottawa could eliminate longstanding internal trade barriers within 30 days. (Jean Laroche/CBC) During an event in Halifax on Wednesday, a reporter asked Anand if Ottawa could deal with those barriers in 30 days. She said yes. "We are making incredible, fast-paced progress with all of the provinces and territories," Anand said. Years in the making Provincial and federal leaders have acknowledged internal trade barriers for years, but have been slow in eliminating them. In 2017, all provinces and territories signed onto the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, but that agreement also includes a list of exemptions for each province. According to the Montreal Economic Institute, Newfoundland and Labrador fell near the middle of the pack as of 2023, with 18 province also has its own rules, and differing standards for things like safety gear, vehicle weight and winter tires. There are also regulatory barriers governing products like alcohol. Justin Fong, co-owner of Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John's, said getting into the market in other provinces can be challenging because of the way beer is taxed. "It varies from province to province and which province you are shipping to from which other province," he said. Justin Fong, co-owner at Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John's, said getting into the market in other provinces can be tricky because of differing rules. (Henrike Wilhelm/CBC) Furey said alcohol is one example of a product governed by interprovincial trade rules that aren't easy for government to eliminate. Changing the rules governing beer could make it easier for companies to get into the Newfoundland and Labrador market, but at the potential detriment of local brewers. Conversely, Furey said barriers related to the trucking industry, specifically regarding labour mobility, could be more quickly eliminated "I think we need to be more surgical, to bite off the ones that we can actually tackle and actually deal with," he said. AnnMarie Boudreau, CEO of the St. John's Board of Trade, said ironing out the issues with provincial trade could be a silver lining to the threat of U.S. tariffs, which has created uncertainty in the Canadian economy for weeks. "Finding ourselves in a situation like this should absolutely give us the courage to make some of the tough decisions that we may not have prioritized in the past," she said. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
09-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Getting rid of internal trade barriers requires a 'surgical approach,' says Furey
Newfoundland and Labrador's premier says he's all for more internal trade, but getting rid of long-standing barriers is easier said than done. While speaking with reporters earlier this week, Andrew Furey called internal trade "the billion-dollar bill on the floor that no one wants to pick up." "It's very difficult. It's historic. It's territorialism to a certain extent. It's not as straightforward as it appears," he said. "I think that we should all be, as premiers, looking to eliminate those barriers. But it is certainly not as easy as it sounds." As U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff rhetoric escalated over the past month, some of Canada's premiers have pointed to internal trade as one potential alternative to the U.S. market. On Thursday, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the four Atlantic premiers, asking them to dismantle trade barriers. The chamber's CEO, Rhonda Tulk-Lane, said she wants provincial and federal leaders to look at barriers they can eliminate quickly. "Businesses are blue in the face talking about cutting red tape," she said. Anita Anand, federal minister of transport and trade, has said eliminating internal trade barriers could lower prices by up to 15 per cent, increase productivity by up to seven per cent and add up to $200 billion to Canada's economy. During an event in Halifax on Wednesday, a reporter asked Anand if Ottawa could deal with those barriers in 30 days. She said yes. "We are making incredible, fast-paced progress with all of the provinces and territories," Anand said. Years in the making Provincial and federal leaders have acknowledged internal trade barriers for years, but have been slow in eliminating them. In 2017, all provinces and territories signed onto the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, but that agreement also includes a list of exemptions for each province. According to the Montreal Economic Institute, Newfoundland and Labrador fell near the middle of the pack as of 2023, with 18 exceptions. Each province also has its own rules, and differing standards for things like safety gear, vehicle weight and winter tires. There are also regulatory barriers governing products like alcohol. Justin Fong, co-owner of Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John's, said getting into the market in other provinces can be challenging because of the way beer is taxed. "It varies from province to province and which province you are shipping to from which other province," he said. Furey said alcohol is one example of a product governed by interprovincial trade rules that aren't easy for government to eliminate. Changing the rules governing beer could make it easier for companies to get into the Newfoundland and Labrador market, but at the potential detriment of local brewers. Conversely, Furey said barriers related to the trucking industry, specifically regarding labour mobility, could be more quickly eliminated AnnMarie Boudreau, CEO of the St. John's Board of Trade, said ironing out the issues with provincial trade could be a silver lining to the threat of U.S. tariffs, which has created uncertainty in the Canadian economy for weeks. "Finding ourselves in a situation like this should absolutely give us the courage to make some of the tough decisions that we may not have prioritized in the past," she said.
