It’s been a rough 18 months for music festivals, with a couple of good ones, Sound of Music (Burlington) and Riverfest (Elora), closing down. Both were fantastic long-running events, but financial pressures eventually got the better of them.
That’s the bad news. The Good news is that the Ontario government has just announced an investment of $20 million through a fund called Experience Ontario that will be spread around nearly 400 festivals and events around the province. This includes:
- Ottawa Bluesfest
- Thunder Bay Festival of Colours
- Grimsby Lights and Après Winter Nights
- Festival Franco Ontarien (Ottawa)
These are good investments given the return. The Canadian Live Music Association says if $20 million goes in, $40 million of economic benefits will come out.
“Experience Ontario continues to play a vital role in ensuring the viability of Ontario’s festival and event industry. The program has helped Ottawa Bluesfest expand into an annual international event, contributing over $40 million a year in tourism economic benefits to Ottawa,” said Mark Monahan, Founder of Ottawa Bluesfest and member of the CLMA.
Read more here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com ’
