The Government of Ontario is Investing $19 Million to Support Local Festivals and Events!
The Government of Ontario, through the Celebrate Ontario program, has announced that it will be investing a total of $19 million to 270 festivals and events across the province. This number (of festivals and events) is actually the highest number in the history of the Celebrate Ontario program. The Celebrate Ontario program funds all types of festivals and events - including cultural ones (music, film) and heritage-type festivals. You can view the full list of recipients by clicking here.
Celebrate Ontario is a granting program through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport that provides funding to events that will draw tourists into the province, create jobs and grow local economies. Specifically, this funding is intended to help event organizers "enhance programming and services, attract new audiences and create jobs in the tourism sector" (News Release). Since 2007, Celebrate Ontario has provided $137 million in funding support to 1,700 events across the province. The news release states that between the period of 2009-2013, the festivals and events that received support through Celebrate Ontario have reported an increase of 6.2 million tourists and an increase of $1 billion in visitor spending.
For more information on Celebrate Ontario, please click here.
To consult the full list of recipients for this year's Celebrate Ontario grant, click here.