City of Montreal denies funds to Caribbean festival and parade

A long-running parade that celebrates Caribbean culture will not be getting support from the City of Montreal this year.

The city will not be giving any funding from a committee overseeing festivals and cultural events to Carifiesta, an annual Caribbean carnival in Montreal first established in 1974.

The parade organizing committee received a letter from the city saying they were not selected to receive around $30,000, which barely covers their costs to put on the parade.

"Given the quality of the applications received, the evaluation committee had to make choices and select projects that most closely align with program objectives. Unfortunately, your project was not selected by the committee," the letter signed by Service de la culture director Kevin Donnelly reads.

The news came as a surprise to the organizing committee that had already begun preparations for the parade and set July 8 for the festival.

"I don't know, I'm just in shock," said CCFA president Everiste Blaize. "I'm surprised, I'm a bit angry, I'm disappointed, I'm upset, and I don't really have answers because the letter everyone is angry about is what I received."

The $30,000 from the city typically covers a variety of costs, including hiring their own security and paying for street signs that tell people not to park.

The city's letter concludes by saying that the decision "does not constitute a negative judgment of your organization." 

FESTIVAL'S PROPOSAL 'NOT VIABLE,' CITY SAYS 

A spokesperson for the City of Montreal said Carifiesta was informed of the changes made to the city's support program for festivals and that the city offered to assist organizers in submitting their project for 2023 funding.

"The promoter did not respond to the City's offer of support," the Camille Bégin wrote in an email to CTV News, adding that its proposal this year's festival was "not viable."

"A meeting will be held with the festival organizers this week to share with them the issues related to the request they have submitted and to explore possible solutions. In addition, the City is reiterating its offer of support for future applications to its programs," the email added.

The City of Montreal overhauled the support programs for festival funding last year. The objectives of the new Festivals and Cultural Events Support Program (FCESP) - Stream III are to support more cultural events "by giving them access to clear and predictable programs" and to "structure the funding criteria, with a view to good governance of public funds."

Carifiesta is not the only festival not getting city funding this year. Of the 124 projects submitted, only 90 are getting financial support. Some of those include FestiThéâtreCréole / FestiTeyatKreyol, Festival Haïti en Folie, Festival international Mizik Kreyol de Montréal, and Festival Un Goût des Caraibes.

Below is a list of events getting funding from the FCESP program this year:

ORGANIZATION	FESTIVAL/EVENT	AMOUNT
Comité de la Fête nationale de la St-Jean Inc.	Fête Nationale	$105,000
Festival du nouveau cinéma	Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal	$180,000
Festival Fantasia	Festival Fantasia	$140,000
Festival international de jazz de Montréal	Festival international de jazz de Montréal (FIJM)	$600,000
Festival Juste pour rire / Just for Laughs	Festival Juste pour rire (JPR)	$600,000
Festival M.A.D. Montréal (précédemment Mode et Design)	Festival M.A.D. Montréal	$135,000
Festival Montréal en Lumière	Semaine de relâche	$200,000
Festival Montréal en Lumière	Festival Montréal en Lumière (MEL)	$600,000
Festival TransAmériques	Festival TransAmériques (FTA)	$400,000
Fierté Montréal	Fierté Montréal	$600,000
Fondation Québec Cinéma	Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma	$150,000
Francofolies de Montréal	Francos de Montréal	$325,000
L'Auguste Théâtre	Noël dans le parc	$115,000
MOMENTA Biennale de l'image	MOMENTA Biennale de l'image*	$80,000
MUTEK	MUTEK	$80,000
Nuit Blanche à Montréal	Nuit Blanche à Montréal	$200,000
Productions Nuits d'Afrique	Festival International Nuits d'Afrique	$165,000
Salon du livre	Salon du livre	$80,000
TERRES EN VUES, Société pour la diffusion de la culture autochtone	Présence autochtone	$210,000
TOHU - Cité des arts du Cirque	Montréal Complètement Cirque (MCC)	$630,000
TOHU - Cité des arts du Cirque	Le Géant	$300,000
To be confirmed	To be confirmed	$125,000
	TOTAL	$6,020,000

 

 

 

 

 

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