GraceHartmanAmphitheatre

By Nick Liard

The provincial government is investing hefty dollars into festivals and events across Ontario.

Nineteen million dollars in total will support 270 festivals and events in 2015/16, through the Celebrate Ontario program.

The Budweiser New Music Festival, Northern Lights Festival Boreal and Jazz Sudbury are among seven in Sudbury that will get a piece of the funding.

One festival called the Songs of Summer Music Festival will receive $90,000, and will run oddly enough, around the same time the now defunct Summerfest would have played.

The investments are meant to help organizers enhance programming and services, attract new audiences and create jobs in the tourism sector.

Since 2007 Celebrate Ontario has invested 137 million dollars to support over 1,700 events in the province.

 

List of local festivals & events getting funding:

Budweiser New Music Fest Sudbury $45,000 (June 5-6)

Northern Lights Festival Boreal $19,800 (July 3-5)

Songs of Summer Music Festival $89,928 (Aug 21-23)

Jazz Sudbury 2015 $35,550 (Sept 8-12)

Festival Cafe-Heritage Festival $16,200 (Sept 18-20)

Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival $83,250 (Sept 18-27)

Pumkinferno! $59,400 (Oct 10-26)

Laugh Out Loud Sudbury Comedy Festival $90,000 (Feb 3-6, 2016)