How did Summer In The City become our community's huge annual festival?

As crews are preparing for another year of Summer in the City, it’s an excellent opportunity to look back at how it all started, and the history of the wonderful event. 

Councillor Jac Siemens takes us back to the beginning, the year 2006. 

“One of the election campaign promises by the soon to be new mayor Chris Goertzen in 2006, he committed in his speeches to, if elected, put a community event together. And it turned out to be Summer in the City.” 

He notes Councillor Michael Zwaagstra was a new councillor at the time, and had it on his platform as well. 

“I also got on council in 2006, the same time. So we heard about this and the planning started at that point, and we assigned a few people to the operation of it with the intent of it becoming a community event but also that it would incorporate and manage itself.” 

The city put in a $50,000 grant fund to manage it, to help them get started, and that was the start of Summer in the City. 

Siemens mentions a lady named Mary Jane Hiebert, he says she worked very hard to get things moving.  

“I remember the mayor asked her to take on that role. And she had phenomenal work ethic and a vision for it,” he says. “It's one thing for council to decide, ‘we want this community event,’ it's another for somebody now to take that vision and run with it, and Mary Jane did that.” 

While the festival was announced in 2008, the very first Summer in the City was June 19th to 21st of 2009. It was designed to coincide with sidewalk sale days. 

“When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s the sidewalk sales days were huge.” 

He says it didn’t take long for Summer in the City to turn into a huge event, not only for Steinbach but for the province. 

“Very quickly over two or three years it became the second or third biggest fair in Manitoba and continues to be, so it didn't take long.” 

He says Summer in the City truly represents who we are as a community. 

“It represents who we are as a community. I like the components of the multiculturalism, that multicultural stage is amazing, of course, the food trucks are always good.” 

He says the festival draws people into Steinbach who normally wouldn’t visit otherwise.  

“You see people who come here to Steinbach that you never see in Steinbach other than that event. There are so many different people here, and it is so busy.” 

Siemens says the entertainment is always great. 

“Over the years, we've been able to get some really good, spectacular entertainment.” 

He says that with a huge festival comes with a huge amount of work, and it doesn’t happen without plenty of good quality volunteers. 

“We could start mentioning names, we'd forget far too many people. Over the years, more and more people in the community have gotten behind this festival to make it possible each and every year, and those that step forward, they do a phenomenal job.” 

With files from Dave Anthony