BC Communities in Bloom
Suite 102, 5783 - 176A Street, Surrey, BC V3S 6S6

Catherine Kennedy
BC Communities in Bloom Executive Director
Direct Line : (604) 576-6506 or email: info@bccommunitiesinbloom.ca
Office (604) 574-7772 or Fax (604) 574-7773



For CiB Merchandise and information about the National Awards and the Symposium on Parks and Grounds please visit their website at: www.communitiesinbloom.ca.


National Communities in Bloom program &
the WinterLights program

Ann Carrière
Executive Director
Collectivités en fleurs - Communities in Bloom
(514) 694-8871 or email: anncarriere@cib-cef.com

Visit the National Communities in Bloom web site at www.communitiesinbloom.ca.


Frequently Asked Question

How is the Provincial CiB different from the National CiB program?
Communities in Bloom is the same program at all levels: Provincial, National and International. It is a necessary first step for a community to proceed from the first level provincially through to the next level (with a couple of exceptions). Each province administrates their Provincial CiB Program as a separate entity from National. Some provinces have administrative support from their provincial level of government where others are supported within another organizational structure such as tourism. British Columbia is the first province to develop as a not for profit society with a mission to restructure as a vehicle for enhancing BC's Garden Image to Canada and throughout the world!

Why should my organization support BC Communities in Bloom?
The program is simply a "Win Win" for the community and its supporters! It is a positive initiative that brings various people from multiple community organizations together creating pride in a wide cross section of the community. Provincial Sponsors are supporting a structure that provides guidance and administration for all participating BC communities. From judges travel expenses to newsletters, workshops to profile enhancing tradeshows, yearly awards celebrating achievements, all these important elements help to create and support a program that strengthens community development.

How can my group participate if we do not have the support of our municipality yet?
The Community Showcase Category is the very newest (and low cost) way to participate in the program by featuring an area or project in your community that you would like your group to be recognized for. This is a terrific way to start developing the committee structure that is required to participate in the full provincial program while building municipal interest and support. (This would not compromise the Mentor or Non-competitive category in the following year).

Can mentoring be utilized over a two year gear up?
No. The mentoring category's purpose is to pair an experienced 5-bloom winner with a new community in an effort to make the transition into the program easier. Also the communities are evaluated as a team and are in a separate participation category from the regular program.

What is considered a "New" community?
- cannot have been in the non-competitive category the year before
- has been out of the CiB program for 2 or more years

How do I fund my community's CIB?
What most communities hope for is a small amount of money from their municipality to fund a project or two, pay the BC CiB registration fee and send a delegate(s) to the BC CiB Awards and Conference in the fall. Usually all other funding is by in kind donations such as hosting the judges in the community during the evaluation day (often two nights accommodation, meals, tour vehicle, and any other items that may be necessary to show your community to its best advantage).

Fundraising events such as garden tours can help with additional costs such as landscaping, garden structures and buying plants and trees.

Build Partnerships: Look for businesses that support local community work as you can often find sponsorship for a specific project.

Can I use your sponsorship package?
Our provincial sponsorship package currently is designed to obtain sponsors for the BC provincial program. The website has most of the same "Program Information" that is in this package. You may find it useful to use portions of it so that your community can promote to your committee, sponsors and/or public what the CiB program is about and what the evaluation criteria is. As an additional note, we have created different levels of sponsorship as it takes "all kinds". Obviously it is not what you know, but who you know!

Do sponsors contribute to the umbrella organization or to individual participants?
Our current sponsors along with the modest registration fees are what pay for program administration, judges' training and for pairs of judges to travel around BC during the judging season. Currently there is no money left over for funding local groups - but if we ever received additional/surplus funding dollars that would be a wonderful idea!

How do I promote my local CIB initiative thru the media?
Some communities are masters at promotion! Many experienced CiB groups have regular newspaper features about current initiatives in their community. One community uses an insert created by the local paper to encourage the general public to get out and tidy up just before the judging day. The insert mentions the eight evaluation criteria so that readers understand what the judges are looking for. As you are probably starting to understand - the program is about more than just flowers!

Please make an email request to info@bccommunitiesinbloom.ca for the document: Involving the Media in Your Communities in Bloom Initiatives - it's full of useful ideas!