Huntsville Festival of the Arts (Hfa) will still be holding its summer festival this year, despite being denied provincial funding.
For the first time in 12 years, the Nuit Blanche North was not provided with money from the province’s Experience Ontario Program.
Officials describe Nuit Blanche North as a multi-arts street festival that has welcomed thousands of visitors to downtown Huntsville over the years, helping the town’s economic growth.
“It is extremely disappointing,” says Dan Watson, HfA executive director. “We have had support from this program for over a decade, and it’s been a huge catalyst in our growth and success. It will have a big impact on our activities and our community.”
According to Watson, as a small not-for-profit charity, they would not be able to hold free events like Nuit Blanche North without funding from programs like Experience Ontario, which supports festivals and events with an economic impact on tourism.
“Since the end of the pandemic, the program has become increasingly competitive, and there are a lot more large corporate weekend festivals and for-profit events that apply,” Watson says. “HfA is a small not-for-profit that works not only to increase tourism over a single weekend but all year round and to offer unique events and programming that represent the unique nature of our region and culture. While we are not as big as other events, we greatly contribute to the local community.”
Watson says in its 2022-23 fiscal year, HfA welcomed over 40,000 guests to its concerts and events, generating 5.3 million dollars in economic benefits annually.
“Despite the lack of funding, and after careful financial analysis, HfA has been able to reallocate funds so that it can present the event at least one more time this summer,” Watson says.
Watson believes they will still be able to offer the kind of exciting event visitors have come to expect from Nuit Blanche North despite the smaller-than-normal budget for the event.
“We owe it to our community,” says Watson. “We’re so thankful that sponsors like TD Bank have remained committed to this event, and thankful for all the local businesses and supporters that continue to believe in the importance of our work.”
He adds that if the HfA is unable to secure adequate funding in the future, it will be forced to cancel this event.
For now, Nuit Blanche North will take place on July 20, 2024.
