Winterlude organizers are giving the drooping jowls of the 33-year-old festival a much-needed face-lift.
Officials say the National Capital Commission will partner with public and private sector companies in hopes their support will make the festival even better.
“We have limited financial sources,” says Guy Laflamme, NCC vice-president of national programming, marketing and communications.
“If we want the event to grow, if we want the event to maintain its competitive edge, we need additional partners to ensure the sustainability of the event in the long run.”
Laflamme says the new business model of increased corporate partnership has been in the works for some time, but recent cuts to the NCC’s budget only quickened the process of its implementation.
Winterlude currently operates on a $4 million budget, which Laflamme says isn’t quite enough to give Winterlude the revamp that the public desires.
“In surveys conducted last year, we got a clear indication that people greatly appreciate Winterlude, but they feel that it needs to be updated and that we need a more contemporary offering of activities.”
For the past 18 months, Laflamme and other organizers have been in talks with possible partners and tweaking the details of their five-year plan.
Laflamme wants to increase the number of indoor activities by moving into buildings such as Scotiabank Place. He's also been working to establish partnerships with some of Ottawa’s museums and galleries that will allow festival goers free admission.
Laflamme wants the new concept to maintain the same Winterlude spirit but to utilize more of Ottawa’s many tourist attractions.
“We have to change the theme of the event from a celebration of Canadian winter culture in the capital, to a celebration of the capital attractions in the winter season,” says Laflamme.
With the new model not set to commence until 2012, Laflamme says this is a transition year for the festival “halfway between the old model and the new concept” but corporate sponsorship is already up.
Laflamme says increased private sponsoring works out for both parties. The NCC gets the necessary funding to improve the festival, while the sponsors can showcase their organizations in the prestigious light of Winterlude.
“With Winterlude specifically, it makes sense to support a festival so close to your business,” says Cindy Vanbuskirk, general manager of the Rideau Centre, one of the festival’s sponsors.
“We know that we’re going to see a lot of visitors to Winterlude at the Rideau Centre.”
Other backers, such the Wine Council of Ontario, also value the exposure Winterlude sponsorship provides.
“It allows us to make sure the restaurants and hotels are putting Canadian products front and centre for the visitors who may be from other parts of the world.” says Linda Watts of the Wine Council of Ontario.
Winterlude officially kicked off this weekend. Laflamme stressed that this year’s opening ceremony showed the direction in which the festival is headed.
“I can’t recall any single event in this region where there was such a dense concentration of top quality cultural activities converging in one place.”