REGINA — A sold-out night of food, music and neighbourhood pride delivers a major win for Regina’s arts community.
The Taste of Cathedral fundraiser brought in just over $16,000, money that will go directly toward keeping the Cathedral Village Arts Festival completely free for the public.
The event, a cornerstone fundraiser for the long-running festival, drew strong support from local restaurants, volunteers and attendees, reinforcing how deeply the Cathedral community values accessible arts and culture.
“It’s been going really well,” said Linda Rattray, co-ordinator of Taste of Cathedral. “Ticket sales always start slow, and after running this event for about 12 years, I still get stressed. But we always sell out in the end, and we did again this year. Seeing everyone having such a good time makes it worth it.”
The Cathedral Village Arts Festival has been running for 35 years, built on a mandate to ensure everyone can attend, regardless of income. While the festival remains free, Rattray said the costs behind the scenes continue to rise.
“There are still significant expenses, paying artists, renting venues, staffing and all the logistics that come with a festival,” she said. “Grants are not as plentiful as they used to be, and more organizations are competing for the same funding. Fundraisers like this are essential to keep the festival accessible.”
Taste of Cathedral brings together food from local restaurants and food businesses, live entertainment and a strong sense of community ownership over the festival’s future.
This year’s event featured live music from Hot Dog! Bluegrass, a fan-favourite band that Rattray said was a perfect fit for the night.
“They’re great,” she said. “We’ve had them play before, and they bring such an energy. It really adds to the atmosphere.”
Rattray credited the event’s success to the people behind it.
“I want to thank all of the volunteers, all of the restaurants and food-related businesses that participated, and the community for coming out and supporting this,” she said. “Every ticket sold helps keep the Cathedral Village Arts Festival free, and that’s incredibly important to us.”
Take a look at our SaskToday video from the event to see some of the best moments of the fundraiser.
