The Government of BC has announced the recipients of its $30 million ‘fairs, festivals, and events’ funding, and Comox Valley organizations were prominently featured.
In February, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Lana Popham announced the grants, noting the challenges organizers have had with increased costs, hiring staff and supply chain issues throughout the pandemic. Organizers had until March 3 to apply for up to 20 per cent of their event budget to be covered, up to a maximum of $250,000.
The government released the recipients list on Tuesday, April 11.
In Courtenay-Comox, 11 events are receiving a total of $250,900 including $134,000 for the Vancouver Island MusicFest. Those recipients include:
• Comox Nautical Days Festival (Comox) - $13,800
• Filberg Festival 2023 (Comox) - $37,900
• Comox Dragon Boat Festival (Comox) - $2,500
• Downtown Comox Summer Fest (Comox) - $2,000
• BC Seafood Festival (Comox) - $36,300
• Comox Valley Snow to Surf relay Event (Comox Valley) - $9,400
• Comox Valley International Film Festival (Courtenay) - $2,600
• 2023 Courtenay Canada Day Celebrations (Courtenay) - $8,400
• Shoreline Orthodontics Tri-K Triathlon (Courtenay) - $2,000
• Vancouver Island MusicFest (Courtenay) - $134,000
• Courtenay BCCF Chorfest 2023 (Courtenay) - $2,000
“Connecting through food, culture, music, and fitness brings our community together,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox. “By funding events throughout the Comox Valley, we are ensuring these events can continue and bring joy to people throughout our community and province.”
Nine other Comox Valley events, in Mid-Island-Pacific Rim MLA Jose Osborne’s riding, received a total of $121,500. They include:
• Cumberland Wild (Cumberland) - $23,300
• Woodstove Music & Arts Festival (Cumberland) - $22,100
• Dodge City X 2023 (Cumberland) - $4,300
• Comox Valley Community Festival/Ribfest (Cumberland) - $10,900
• Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (Cumberland) - $21,800
• Victoria Day May long weekend celebration (Cumberland) - $6,400
• Blackberry Jam Music Festival (Denman Island) - $6,400
• Denman Baroque Festival (Denman Island) - $3,200
• Hornby Festival (Hornby Island) - $23,100
“From the Pacific Rim Whale Festival to the Five Acre Shaker, our region has a wide variety of events for everyone, visitors and locals, to enjoy,” said Osborne. “I’m so glad we can support these fantastic groups and the vibrancy they bring to our communities.”
This latest round of grants builds upon the success of the BC Fairs, Festivals and Events Program funding in 2021, which provided one-time grants for events to safely return after facing the covid-19 pandemic.
terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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