Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest receives federal tourism funding
By Steven Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: Area festivals mystified after being shut out of federal tourism funding program
Knelman: Festival funding deserves to be permanent
The following are excerpts from an opion piece that appeared today in the Toronto Star:
Which festivals will be the big winners this year when Ottawa hands out $50 million in stimulus money via its Marquee Tourism Events Program? All across Canada, people who operate festivals are waiting for an announcement from the minister of tourism and small business. At the same time, they are also apprehensive because this is the second and final year of a short-term program the federal government clearly labelled “stimulus” only.
But in fact, the program was so successful in 2009 that there is now a strong argument for replacing it with a long-term funding mechanism that would not have that dreaded S word attached to it, and would operate in good times as well as bad.
One of the intriguing points about the Marquee bonanza is that these funds did not flow through the heritage ministry, which is normally responsible for supporting the arts. And the criteria did not involve juries making critical assessments of the cultural worthiness of the applicants.
No, this fund, announced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty early last year, was to help long-established festivals with a track record of having a positive impact on tourist traffic. And the eligible festivals were not restricted to the arts.
Read the full piece: Knelman: Festival funding deserves to be permanent
Report shows statistics of Ottawa’s artists
EMC Entertainment
More than one-third of Canada’s artists live in five of the largest cities, according to a report released today.
“It is critical that we create an environment here in Ottawa that keeps artists in the nation’s capital,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “We know that artists not only contribute to our quality of life, but also to the social and economic vitality of our city.”
“This report is invaluable as a benchmark for tracking the creative capacity of Ottawa’s neighbourhoods,” added Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the community and protective services committee. “We must work to ensure that Ottawa provides competitive per-capita support for arts and festivals as well as access to affordable studio space, inexpensive housing, galleries, rehearsal and performance spaces.
Full story available on the EMC website: Report shows statistics of Ottawa’s artists
Economic plan vital to our future
From Randall Denley’ s commentary in the Ottawa Citizen
We need a sector-by-sector economic development plan with creative and achievable goals for every element of our local economy. Tourism would be an obvious place to start. Arts and culture is another blind spot. We tend to see culture as an expensive frill, not a city-enhancing activity. Arts and culture is part of a huge international entertainment industry, of which we have only a tiny slice.
Economic development is the key to ensuring our future prosperity and to improving the quality of our city. We need to plan it in a thoughtful and intelligent way, but the focus has to be on results, not talk. O’Brien is positioning himself as an economic-development champion and he hopes to have a new plan ready by early summer. His first big challenge is to engage the public and the second is to see beyond passing the ball to some other agency. But give credit to the mayor. At least he understands why all of this matters.
Read the full column: Economic plan vital to our future
Ottawa Festivals and Events Celebrate Funding Announcement
Ontario Minister of Tourism, Monique Smith, visits “Canada’s Festival Capital” to announce recipients of the province’s increased Celebrate Ontario funding program
OTTAWA – Monique Smith, Minister of Tourism, was in Ottawa Wednesday to announce that fifteen Ottawa festivals, special events and fairs will receive more than $1.4-million as part of Ontario’s $11-million investment throughout the province.
In front of a full house of representatives from the festival, tourism and business community, Smith stated that the Province was investing $11-million for 2009, a $2-million increase over its commitment in 2008, because, “Our government recognizes the economic impact that festivals and events have on local communities throughout the province. By enabling community events to improve their product, we are helping them reach new audiences, create more jobs and generate more economic activity.”
“This announcement from the Government of Ontario is great news for area festivals,” states Julian Armour, President of Ottawa Festivals, “This announcement and the recent announcement from the Federal Government both show a strong recognition of the tremendous economic and community impact generated by festivals.”
“Festivals are important economic engines and we need people to know how important they are to the economy,” Smith said. During his opening remarks, Noel Buckley, President of Ottawa Tourism echoed these sentiments stating that, “Festivals are key demand generators for the Ottawa tourism industry.”
“Celebrate Ontario funding helps us to improve our programming and keep a competitive edge in the tourism marketplace,” says Hitomi Suzuta, President of Ottawa Folk Festival, “It’s not only an investment in our festival, it’s an investment in the many local businesses that rely on the visitors we draw.”
In fact, the numbers can be staggering. The Ottawa Festival Visitor Impact Study found that the total economic activity in Ottawa attributable to just 21 of the region’s more than a hundred events was almost $94-million, supporting over 1,100 full-year jobs and returning more than $5.5-million to the local municipal tax base, $14-million to federal coffers and $12-million to the province.
While referring to the area as “Canada’s Festival Capital,” Smith said that the announcement was being made in Ottawa, “Because it is a place of festivals,” mentioning that no matter the season, “There is always something going on.” She went on to praise the diversity of events that range from cultural and ethnic celebrations to sporting events and major international festivals, “Everyone is covered in Ottawa.”
This diversity is reflected in the list of funding recipients of Celebrate Ontario funding from Ottawa that includes The Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival, TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz festival, Rideau Canal Festival, Ottawa Folk Festival, Festival franco-ontarien 2009, Ottawa International Writers Festival, Festival des Sucres 2009, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Ottawa International Children’s Festival and Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.
The Richness of Ottawa Shines Through
For Immediate Release.
OTTAWA, ON - Ottawa Festivals launched the beginning of the FESTIVAL SEASON this afternoon at City Hall. The array of the region’s festivals, events and fairs showcased, truly allows residents and visitors to discover a rich tapestry of experiences. From block-buster line-ups to rural ramblings, from ethnic celebrations to the rigours of sports, all 43 Ottawa Festival members cooperate to provide the city with quality events, economic spin-offs, and tourism enhancement – all designed to add to the quality of life in Ottawa. The impressive arts and entertainment line-up that residents can look forward to this year is spectacular.
The launch was hosted by CBC Air Farce star, Luba Goy, who recounted her fond memories about events. She also introduced speakers Mayor Larry O’Brien and Ottawa Festivals President Julian Amour. The presentation was enhanced with music, entertainment and many festivals pass prize giveaways. “Festivals in Ottawa benefit the City tremendously” says Armour. “It’s not just the diverse array of activities our members provide, it is also the economic impact festivals have on the local economy. By working together, local festivals have helped each other succeed and give back to their community.”
This year’s new initiative is the launch of a 26-week public awareness campaign about upcoming festivals, events and fairs. Afonso da Silva, Director of Marketing & Programs from Ottawa Festivals noted “a major frustration for the public is missing out on member events because they didn’t hear about them in time.” To help solve this problem, the organization has launched ” ottawafestivals.ca – Find events the easy way!”. ”This web site and the City of Ottawa ’s Spotlight website now provide a great one-stop source for entertainment listings” says da Silva.
Also announced at the launch was the $1,873,677 support that local events have received from the Celebrate Ontario fund, created to enhance events and draw leisure market travellers to the city. This additional funding will position Ottawa as a not to be missed destination, thereby providing significant economic spin-off. Other Ottawa Festival Services Ottawa Festivals continues to offer its members a number of services including a newly established Group Benefits Program, Sustainability & Emergency Fund, and administering Employment Ontario’s Job Creation Program which has helped hundreds of participants get the training and experience they need to find a job in their field. Barbara Stacey, Ottawa Festivals Executive Director explains: “There have been so many participant success stories coming out of this program and for our members – it’s an incredible resource.”
This year’s festival season is planned and ready to go with the Canadian Tulip Festival, the Awesome Indies Film Festival for Children and Youth, the Victoria Day Festival and the Ottawa Race Weekend set to run in the next few weeks. With an event packed summer and fall, it will be a great year for entertainment and for the Tourism industry in the City. Don’t forget the non-spring/summer events Ottawa Festivals members operate in the fall and winter seasons such as the Ottawa Storytelling Festival, the One World Film Festival, and the Ottawa International Hockey Festival, to name just a few. These help make Ottawa a year-round destination.
Ottawa Festivals was also the winner of Ottawa Tourism’s Small Business of the Year.
-30 -
For more information about Ottawa Festivals or the Launch of the Festival Season, contact Barbara Stacey at executive@ottawafestivals.ca or call 613.233.1085
300-436 MacLaren Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0M8
Phone: 613.233.1085 Fax: 613.233.3134 Cell: 613.795.8245
Ottawa Arts/Festivals Community Ranks last in Municipal Per-Capital Funding
Press Release
OTTAWA – Ottawa ranked last in municipal per-capita, last in provincial arts agency per-capita, second last in Canada Council for the Arts per-capita and second in Department of Canadian Heritage per-capita funding.
City Council motions in 2002 and 2003 directed staff to develop a plan that would bring arts and festival funding in Ottawa to a competitive level with ’s 6 other largest single cities.
An Arts Investment Strategy community working team was established in April 2005 and included representatives from Ottawa’s arts and festival umbrella organizations (which included Ottawa Festivals), the City of Ottawa’s Arts, Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee and discipline-specific leaders.
The developed strategies include:
a-an increased municipal funding plan of $2.5M over four years
b-expanded advocacy aimed at increasing provincial and federal funding
c-increased private sector and National Capital cultural partnerships
d-study of a proposed Arts Stabilization Project and an Arts Investment Service for Ottawa
Ottawa Festivals (formally Ottawa Festival Network), a not for profit member-based organization, established in 1996, leads Ottawa’s multi-million dollar event industry in the Nation’s Capital Region. It works to make local festival, special events, and fairs world-class and to promote Ottawa as an exciting tourist destination while making a significant impact on the local economy and greatly enhancing the region’s image.
- 30 -
Should you wish to contact our Board of Directors or our member festival Executive Directors we will gladly coordinate the process.
Ottawa Festivals
Afonso da Silva
Director of Marketing & Communications
436 Maclaren Street, Suite 300
Ottawa, ON K2P 0M8
613.233.1085
Related material:
Arts Investment Strategy Backgrounder
Ottawa Festivals Board of Director
Festivals more than justify city investments
