The Harrison Festival lost one of its greatest champions on September 27th, Rae McCombs.
As the Continuing Education Coordinator at Fraser Valley College Rae took over the administration and programming of the Festival workshops in 1981. In the early days the workshops were the main activity of the event along with a Fraser Valley College theatre production, art exhibits and a few concerts.
Rae’s commitment to the Festival and the arts community went far beyond his original role at FVC. He was a founding director of the organization when it became a non-profit society in 1988. He was responsible for helping to create a Writer’s program arranging for Canadian literary greats like Earle Birney and Al Purdy to do residencies at the summer festival.
He was passionate about bringing diverse cultures together to learn about each other through the visual, literary and performing arts long before it became a popular theme amongst many arts groups. This was a steppingstone for the future vision and mandate of the organization and what it has become. He was also instrumental in maintaining the financial and in-kind support with FVC (now the University of the Fraser Valley) – a partnership which still exists to this day.
He was an enthusiastic teammate whose sense of humour saved the day on many occasions. He never hesitated to lend a hand whether it was picking up a broom, moving equipment or just providing much needed encouragement.
We are fortunate to have had him in our midst to help lay the foundation of the organization and his legacy to the Festival is immeasurable.
