This week, Victoria’s city council will consider whether or not to provide an extra chunk of funding to the upcoming Victoria Day Parade, as well as what to do with the rest of the City’s major events’ funding.
The motion will be brought forward by Mayor Marianne Alto and Councillor Jeremy Caradonna, who hope to give the Victoria Day Parade an extra $25,000 in funding to mark the parade’s 125th year milestone.
Additionally, the motion will recommend that the remaining funding available through the Major Community Initiatives and Events Grant (MCIEG) program go to existing programming in the fall.
The Greater Victoria Festival Society, who are the event organizers of the annual Victoria Day Parade, applied for and received funding through the event already through the 2025 Festival Program Grant.
However, being that 2025 marks the 125th anniversary of the parade, organizers are hoping to expand programming to celebrate.
Usually, the Greater Victoria Festival Society would have applied for additional funding through the BC Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund (BCFFE).
However, the BCFFE program was not renewed by the BC government for 2025, leaving many major events without funding they had come to rely upon.
The motion suggests that although the MCIEG application process has closed, the Victoria Day Parade’s 125th year is an important enough event to make an “extraordinary one-time” funding exception.
“An additional $25,000 from the MCIEG will help offset the shortfall resulting from the loss of BCFFE funding and support the success of the expanded 125th anniversary celebrations,” reads Mayor Alto and Councillor Caradonna’s motion.
Currently, there is a remaining $168,520 available through the MCIEG program. If $25,000 is used for the parade, there would be $143,520 left available for 2025.
Because of this, and the fact that the application window for the MCIEG is closed, Mayor Alto and Councillor Caradonna’s motion also suggests that the remaining funds be used to enhance existing programming during the quieter fall and winter months, in an effort to support downtown vibrancy and community engagement.
This Thursday, May 1st, council members will discuss this motion, and will be encouraged to make a same-day decision, because the Victoria Day Parade is scheduled for May 19th and event organizers need to know what kind of budget they have to work with.
Related:
Mayor Alto and Councillor Caradonna’s motion recommends that city council approve the one-time funding of $25,000 for the Victoria Day Parade and that City staff allocate the remaining 2025 MCIEG program funds to enhance existing programming.
