Community Bursary’s – Bala Cranberry Festival
The Bala Cranberry Festival is helping eight local students with their post secondary education. The festival awarded three types of bursaries this summer: the Orville Johnston Memorial Bursary, the Performing Arts Bursary, and the newly created- Mature Student Bursary.
“This is such an amazing opportunity the Cranberry Festival has granted me and in turn, my family”, said an award recipient of the Mature Student Bursary. The funding will contribute towards their concurrent Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts degree. The other recipients are continuing their Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Studies, and Practical Nursing.
The Orville Johnston Memorial Bursary is given to students who have contributed to their communities. From mentoring children and working with the elderly to helping procure masks for retirement homes during the pandemic and educating tourists about the history of Muskoka. All of the applicants for the 2022 bursary all went above and beyond contributing to their communities. Recipients include individuals starting their post secondary educations this fall at the University of Guelph in Bachelor of Science in Biology, University of British Columbia for Bachelor of Health and Exercise Sciences, and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. One individual is finishing her final year at the University of Ottawa for their Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In this individual’s application they stated, “I believe in giving back to my community and intend on returning to Muskoka to provide mental health services following completion of my degree”.
A local musician of Bracebridge is the most recent recipient of the Performing Arts Bursary. Attending Athabasca University to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce in the fall, they are looking to become a private music teacher. They shared in their application, “Since beginning violin lessons, my four younger siblings and I have performed frequently in Muskoka. Up until recently, my family performed monthly at retirement homes calling ourselves ‘The Johnson Family Variety Show’”.
All bursary recipients receive between $500 and $2000 depending on the bursary they applied for and the number of qualified applicants.
We are looking forward to the 2022 Bala Cranberry Festival which will be held October 16 to 18. Tickets are now available online at balacranberryfestival.on.ca. The Festival would like to thank its sponsors, including the Government of Ontario, Weismiller Timber Mart, TD Bank Group, Muskoka Lumber, and Rogers Communications Inc. for supporting the 2021 & 2022 festival which allowed these bursary’s to be made available through its ticket sales.