As part of its deliberations at last Monday’s regular meeting, Humboldt City Council approved a proposal to enter into a five-year agreement with the Living Skies Music Festival in providing a $40,000 cash sponsorship each year with the caveat to reduce the funding to $30,000 in any year the promoter secures a presenting sponsor. The agreement would include the City’s in-kind support as in the previous two years of the festival The City has been working in tandem with 306 Management and Tarel Sterner, originally from the area, since the inaugural 2024 one-night presentation. The festival has now been embedded as part of the Humboldt Summer Sizzler and the intent is to continue the relationship between the events. In 2025, the event expanded to two nights, one focused on rock and one on country, which drew in a larger and more diverse crowd. In its deliberations, council noted that attendance doubled from 2024 despite inclement weather leading to lower walk-up sales. A report presented to council noted that 58% of attendees travelled from over an hour away, up from 42% in 2024, with attendees coming from BC and Ontario. Social media produced a robust 600,000 views between the concert and the March launch. The Living Skies festival has also been nominated for a Music Festival of the year profile which has raised the profile and is likely to produce more ticket sales. Community and Leisure Services Director Mike Ulriksen noted that while the festival lost money in the first two years, as is often the case in establishing such ventures, Sterner and the management team were eyeing profitability in 2026, at which point dollars could be funneled back into community organizations to help support local projects. “From the recreation side of the coin, we recognized that tourism in Humboldt is largely created by the things we have going on here, not by natural resources or amenities as in other communities,” admitted Ulriksen. “This is definitely an event that will see significant tourism draw to the community, and by committing to the next five years of support, it will grow some stability behind it.” During the session, Mayor Rob Muench echoed the sentiment that those in attendance had largely positive comments, and it was likely the type of marquis event that would continue to draw attention. Council agreed with the proposal and voted to support the five-year plan.