Kelly O’Brien, Centretown News
A mural painted under the bridge on the corner of Bank and Isabella in preparation for Ottawa 2017.Strategic plans and funding for Ottawa 2017 were unveiled at Ottawa City Hall on Nov. 12.
Organizers of Ottawa 2017 announced that there is going to be a one-time cash injection of $150,000 added to the civic events funding program, which is designed to assist community groups with planning special events across Ottawa to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday.
The civic events funding program provides not-for-profit organizations like community associations with the funds to put on one or two day events on civic or statutory holidays.
Traditionally, the fund has $50,000 and is used to help small community organizations get projects off the ground through small grants.
“We are quadrupling the number to $200,000 because we believe that 2017 is not just about big events in downtown Ottawa and Parliament Hill but it should be all over the community,” says Mayor Jim Watson.
Watson says this funding is a combination of corporate sponsor money, provincial money and city money all blended into one fund.
Dan Chenier, general manger of parks, recreation and cultural services, explains that community groups are currently able to apply for grants of up to $3,000 from the fund. However, with the additional funding in 2017, individual groups will be eligible for up to $5,000 in grants for that year or up to $10,000 if they choose to partner with one or more groups.
“This is a chance for local communities to jump on the 2017 bandwagon and tell us how they want to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday in their neighbourhood and community centre, says Watson. “We’re going to provide the funds to ensure they have a great party and a great celebration of Canada’s big birthday.”
The funds will go towards community events that have a 150th component to them, says Guy Laflamme, executive director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau.
“This funding increase will allow communities to define how they would like to celebrate Canada’s big year, while amplifying the celebrations and creating a festive spirit throughout the region,” he says.
After the information session Laflamme received a lot of positive feedback from community members, both in person and online via Twitter.
“People appreciated the fact that we care and put as much effort and emphasis on community grass-root events as we do on larger scale, flamboyant events to attract visitors,” he says.
The Ottawa 2017 Bureau says it hopes that this announcement will start conversations among potential event organizers and create a buzz throughout Ottawa.
“This is an important event for our country and for our city,” says Watson. “We very much wanted to have a community forum where we invited community leaders from different groups, associations and recreation organizations to come together and hear a little bit about our overall plans.”
Specific guidelines for the funding program will be posted on the Ottawa 2017 website soon, however, application forms will not become available until the summer of 2016. Groups will be told how much funding they will receive in fall of 2016, giving them just under a year to promote and plan their events.
Funding for the city’s arts, culture and heritage sector, along with support for local festivals, will be announced in the new year.