The City of Victoria will provide nearly $400,000 in grants to dozens of festivals and celebrations this year, including $50,000 for a Canada Day event.
The grant for the July 1 holiday was the largest of 46 grants announced by the city Wednesday. The city awarded the grant to Penmar Community Arts Society to produce a "large-scale Inner Harbour celebration" as part of a pilot project to "support community-led programming" on Canada Day.
Other events receiving sizable support include $18,000 for the 24th annual Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival, $17,500 for the Symphony in the Summer Festival, and $16,500 for the Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival.
"This year, the Festival Investment Grant program had a record number of applications from local non-profit organizations," Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said in a news release Wednesday.
"I'm thrilled to see the exciting lineup of diverse, inclusive, family-friendly events, from dance and theatre to music and community performance. This signals Victoria's return to a strong festival season, which we are all very much anticipating."
Victoria's festival grant program has invested more than $4 million in non-profit groups since its inception 24 years ago, according to the city.
Other events receiving city funding this year include Victoria Pride Week, African and Caribbean Cultural Week, the Khalsa Day Parade, the Folktoria festival and Festival Mexicano
The city will publish its online City Vibe guide in May with a complete list of upcoming family-friendly events and festivals around Victoria.
A full list of the 2023 grant recipients is available here.
