Preparing for the Canadian Tulip Festival is a monumental task, but its executive director says that work was largely in hibernation this winter — just like the tulips themselves.
After budget pressures forced Jo Riding to lay off all her staff, she had to plan for the festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of people, all by herself.
“I’ve been able to bring back two full-time, two part-time,” Riding told CBC on Monday. “If you can imagine hosting almost half a million people with four people, that is a pretty tough job.”
Before the pandemic, the festival typically had more than $800,000 to work with.
Now, Riding’s budget is about $550,000, a drop that’s due largely to the fact every level of government has cut funding for the festival.
The City of Ottawa’s contribution through its economic development program is down by half from 2022 levels, to just $50,000 this year.
And there’s no guarantee the festival will get any money from the city next year, something Riding says will have ripple effects on other funders.
“The funding starts at home,” she said. “It’s a drop across the board, because the province and the federal government see that we’re not valued in the city we’re in — and of course, the city is the one that reaps the biggest benefit.
“The festival has a tremendous impact to hoteliers, restaurants, neighbourhoods, and really our ask is so small.”
Getting ‘creative’
The ideal scenario, Riding said, would be to get funding back to pre-pandemic levels.
Riding said the province gave the festival about $139,000 in 2022, but just $55,000 last year, and there’s still no word on their contribution for 2024.
As for Canadian Heritage, she said the festival could once count on $85,000 or more. This year, the federal contribution is $57,600.
The cash crunch, first reported by the Ottawa Citizen, means the festival will no longer be able to offer guided tours. There will be self-guided tours using QR codes instead.
But otherwise, Riding said her small team has managed to struggle through. For its 72nd annual edition this May, there will still be free movie showings and a sound-and-light show based on a veteran’s memoirs.
The air force will still fly CF-18s over the site for opening ceremonies, Riding added.
“We’ve gotten so creative with it that folks shouldn’t see a big change,” she said.
‘A difficult time for festivals’
Catherine Callary, vice-president of destination development with Ottawa Tourism, told Radio-Canada the plight facing the tulip festival isn’t uncommon, as applications for public funding get more competitive.
“It’s a difficult time for festivals,” she said in French. “I believe that there is still time to offer help to festivals, especially from public agencies. And we are asking them to support our arts and culture.”
Ottawa Tourism provided emergency financial support to some festivals this year, Callary added, including the tulip festival.
Riding said bouncing back from the pandemic has been tough. Revenue was even lower last year, and the festival ran a deficit.
Now, at least, she’s managed to balance the budget.
She said the festival has looked for new funding streams. This year, it has a partnership with Carleton University to share parking revenue, with guests able to ride a water taxi across Dows Lake to the tulips at Commissioners Park.
A line in the soil
For the future, Rising isn’t ruling out charging a fee for off-site events. But on one point, she’s drawing a line in the soil: there will never be a cost to see the tulips, as long as she’s executive director.
“The tulips were given to everybody to say thank you for our sacrifice, and I couldn’t see gating and ticketing Remembrance Day, so I’m not going to gate and ticket the tulip festival.”
In an email response to Radio-Canada, the city said it recognizes the significant contribution festivals make to Ottawa. But it confirmed that it isn’t planning to continue the economic development funding beyond 2024.
It said the festival can apply for funding under a separate grant program through the recreation, culture and facility services department.
This year, the Canadian Tulip Festival will run from May 10 to 20.