By Julie Hawrishok
Picture this: the City of Ottawa decides to help out one of Ottawa’s most renowned festivals by offering a bailout loan of $300,000. The organizers of this event are happy, saying they need this cash because last year’s festival was a little more dismal than expected.
Other organizers of equally cash strapped events inquire about perhaps receiving similar help for their own fledging festivals. The mayor of Ottawa calls this request “out of line and out of place.”
Is there something wrong with this picture?
Yes, but it’s real. The city should not be able to arbitrarily give funds to one festival, while ignoring the others.
Ottawa plays host to many annual festivals. There is almost one a month for the entire year, and sometimes even several events monthly. We’re in the midst of Winterlude now, perhaps the most storied of Ottawa events. Come June there’s the Fringe Festival, the Children’s Festival and the Beer Festival. July welcomes Bluesfest, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, the Pride Festival, and a handful of others. Later there’s everything from Lebanorama to the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival to UniSong, the Great Composers Festival, ad naseum. There is something for everyone, including city financiers.
There is nothing wrong with festivals. As a whole, they help promote culture to the masses and promote the city while bringing in needed tourist revenue.
In 2000, Winterlude alone garnered about $70 million for the local economy. This year, the festival ranked highly on lists published by both the New York Times and the Washington Post. Each paper touted Winterlude (and Ottawa) as a hot spot for winter tourism.
Good promotion equals good revenue. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
Well, one would hope so. But with the City of Ottawa stepping in to offer a gallant hand in salvaging the Tulip Festival, other organizers can rightly feel spurned.
Mark Monahan, organizer of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, asked Ottawa Treasurer Lloyd Russell if his festivals could get funding help after hearing about the Tulip Festival’s bailout loan. His request was denied.
Is the city showing favouritism? Was it merely a matter of the Tulip Festival organizers pleading for money first?
Either way, it’s not the best system to ensure content festival organizers. And it’s certainly not fair.
Other festivals across Canada manage to survive without coming to their respective cities for help.
Many of Vancouver’s notable festivals receive federal grants in addition to corporate sponsorship and personal savings.
The Alcan Dragon Boat Festival draws thousands of visitors each year and boasts a list of diverse sponsors including Alcan, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Coors Light, Shoppers Drug Mart, and yes, even the Government of Canada.
Some Ottawa festivals have made room for corporate sponsorship. The Bluesfest is now known as the Cisco Systems Bluesfest, paying respect to one of their key sponsors. Other major sponsors of the Bluesfest include Rogers Cable, Molson Canadian and Hydro Ottawa. Clearly corporate cash has reared its head and brought extra funding to the festival.
The City of Ottawa is not wrong in lending a helping dollar to impoverished festivals, but the way they do so should be executed more fairly.
Why not establish one fund with a board who would dole out monies and loans when needed?
A contingency plan for festivals may be the solution to festival’s financial woes. No resentment would be harboured by those unfortunate enough to be denied funds and more local festivals would have the opportunity to flourish and Ottawa festivals could work together in a synergetic, harmonious and lucrative manner.