The City of Toronto’s latest funding program could save popular events, like the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, that are running low on funding due to increased costs from inflation and the pandemic.
Mayor Olivia Chow unveiled a $2-million grant for approximately 40 events through the city’s new Special Events Stabilization Initiative (SESI), a one-time pilot program announced on July 20.
The announcement was made at the Festival of South Asia, alongside Toronto Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher and Don Valley North Councillor Shelley Carroll.
“Cultural festivals are part of what makes Toronto an incredible place to live and a destination of choice for tourists around the world,” Chow said in a statement.
“With this funding announcement, we’re continuing to support special event organizers facing financial hardships to ensure they can continue to provide the experiences and events that Torontonians know and love,” she continued.
The funding comes as good news for organizers like Emily Reid, creator of the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS), who are struggling with financial challenges despite growing attendance.
TOPS is currently facing a $70,000 funding shortfall despite seeing attendance to the summer-long festival grow “more than 50 per cent since 2022,” Reid told Now Toronto on Monday.
“If new funding sources are not confirmed by this fall to close the gap on this year’s festival, that would mean the end of the 14-year old festival, and its free, public programming each summer,” she added.
TOPS recently announced the challenges the organization is facing, and is also asking the community for their support by donating to keep the shows going.
Reid says she is “very relieved” to learn of the city’s latest initiative as it is “essential to stabilizing our local festival sector in a time of urgent financial need and significant cultural impact.”
However, Reid hopes the “eligibility criteria will be inclusive of the broad diversity of Toronto’s festivals. At this time, it’s not clear whether TOPS will benefit from any of this stability funding.”
Currently, only events and festivals held outdoors in public spaces from January 1 to December 31, 2024, qualify for funding, as per the city’s eligibility criteria.
Additionally, the festivals must be open to everyone without membership requirements, offer mostly free or very low-cost programming (under $5 per person), and occur annually for 1 to 90 days.
Applications open on Aug. 19 at 9 a.m. and close on Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
The city also says it plans to continue working closely with festival organizers to ensure their success while advocating for sustained support from other levels of government.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the specific eligibility criteria provided by the City of Toronto for the SESI funding program.
