by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 11/98) - City council last night approved a $25,000 grant for the Folk on the Rocks committee for a new main stage.

"Currently the stage where Folk on the Rocks is held is being held together by two-by-fours and patchwork," said Steve Eichler, co-president of this year's Folk on the Rocks.

"That facility was build nearly 20 years ago and in this one could say Folk on the Rocks is a victim of its own success."

The old stage constructed in the early 1980s by the city and the Folk on the Rocks Committee has been maintained over the years by both agencies.

Last September, the city's safety inspection division found a structural failure in one of the roof beams on the main stage at the festival site. A temporary repair was done in January but more work was needed before the next festival this July.

Though the preliminary drawings call for a stage costing $34,000,

Folk on the Rocks sent a letter to the city last month requesting just $25,000, hoping to make up the balance in fundraising over the next few months.

Eichler said he expects labor costs to be zero, thanks to volunteers.

"Folk on the Rocks, we believe, provides the city of Yellowknife with something of a magnet to pull in tourists to the city in the summer," said Eichler. "People come to the city in the summer because they heard of the festival. They've heard about the city from performers who have been here, many of whom have petitioned folk on the Rocks to come back to have us have them back again."

Before discussion ended on Monday night, Ald. Ben McDonald followed up on an idea by Matthew Grogono to offer a prize for a song about Yellowknife, the North or the festival itself.

"Do we need a motion for that or can I just ask administration to take that idea to the economic development department and see if something like that has any merit?" asked McDonald.

His idea was accepted as a recommendation to council.