It might be late, but the show will go on.
The seventh annual Chinatown Remixed festival will open on Sept. 19 after a four-month delay due to lack of funding.
With the City of Ottawa declining its grant and the Somerset Chinatown BIA deciding to reallocate its spending, the festival committee was forced to re-evaluate its vision.
Launched in 2009, The Chinatown Remixed festival features artists from a variety of backgrounds turning sidewalks and storefronts into a diverse celebration of art.
Under a tight deadline with no possible donors, the committee decided to push back the start-date of the festival and launch a number of fundraising initiatives.
“We could do it for less, but we think that the artists deserve to be given something for their work,” said co-director Robert Parungao, who will be operating this year’s festival with a third of the 2014 budget.
The operating costs are quite small, explained Parungao, but they don’t want to be in a situation where artists aren’t being compensated.
Taking advantage of the community’s familiarity with the summer festival, they hosted a “Chinatown Premixed” block party in June with a silent auction, ping pong, live painting, and craft beer.
The Raw Sugar Café also hosted a trivia night in July that featured multiple teams battling to help raise money for the festival.
Raw Sugar Café owner Nadia Kharyaty doesn’t believe that it should have lost its funding and has been a supporter of the festival since its first year.
“No question, it is the busiest day of the year for us,” she said, referring to the annual kick-off day.
The month-long festival begining Sept. 19, will feature new and returning local artists scattered along Somerset Street between Arthur Street and Percy Street.
With giant abstract sculptures standing on lawns, paintings of all shapes and styles littering the sidewalks and workshops going on at every corner, the street comes alive with diversity and colour.
“What we’re trying to do is contribute to the storyline of Ottawa becoming a fun and exciting place,” said Parungao.
That the festival is launching on the same day as Nuit Blanche, a dusk-dawn outdoor art festival in Ottawa and Gatineau, is no mistake, explained Parungao.
“Our hope is that people will come to our event in the morning and then go to Nuit Blanche at night. Our hope is that they can work together.”
The festival will be kicking off at 2 p.m. on Sept. 19 with live music, child workshops, food vendors, and a street bursting with colour.