There’s a new but familiar face at the helm of the Winkler Harvest Festival organizing committee this year.
The City of Winkler announced last week that KB Marketing is overseeing planning for the 2024 edition of the community celebration, which runs Aug. 9-11.
The company led by Karina Bueckert was heavily involved in the 2023 festival, overseeing corporate sponsorships and stepping up in the final weeks before festival weekend to fill the vacant director’s role.
Bueckert says she’s looking forward to leading the charge in making the 2024 festival one to remember.
“This is a nice fit for us because we are so involved for the sponsorship side of things,” she says. “It’s a nice way to close a lot of the gaps and still be able to be as involved as we were.”
In taking on the director’s position, Bueckert is following in the footsteps of her mom, Adele Dyck.
“My family has a history with the festival: my mom was the director when we were growing up,” she says, sharing her enthusiasm for the event, now in its 37th year.
The organizing committee has its first meeting this month, but planning is already well underway.
“I’m in the process of finalizing the entertainment. That’s our first step,” Bueckert says, noting that Winkler has made a real name for itself in the entertainment world in recent years.
“What I find so interesting is how many big names have been reaching out, their agencies have been reaching out to us, wanting to perform here,” she says. “We used to be the small-town festival where we would have to look for performers, but now we have these big names reaching out to us.”
This year’s headliners will be announced in spring.
Beyond the stage line-up, Bueckert says they have plenty in the works to fine-tune returning festival events and bring in a few new activities as well.
“There will definitely be some new aspects involved. We’re going to be adding a few extra pieces, but we’re also going to improve on a lot of things.”
Bueckert notes the festival committee is made up of a dedicated group of people, all of whom know the ins and outs of their respective events.
“They are all fantastic and they’ve been there for a long time,” she says. “They bring so much experience to it. I’d be lost without them.”
They’re always looking for additional volunteers to work both in advance of festival weekend and during it.
“I would take as much help as I can get,” Bueckert says. “There’s always extra things that need to be done, so we’re always looking for volunteers.”
If you’d like to get involved with the Winkler Harvest Festival as a volunteer or sponsor, you can reach Bueckert at 204-325-0578 or Karina@KB-Marketing.ca.
