January 28, 1999
To: Economic Development Committee
From: Joe Halstead, Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism
Subject: Expansion of the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival
Purpose:
To address the feasibility of expanding the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival to include some activities along the waterfront, specifically in the former City of Etobicoke area of the City of Toronto.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial implications arising out of this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
The first Celebrate Toronto Street Festival was held July 3-5, 1998 at major intersections along Yonge Street between Lawrence Avenue and Dundas Street. Over 400,000 people enjoyed the entertainment and activities offered. Retail and restaurant merchants enjoyed economic benefits of this successful city event.
The purpose of the event is to bring citizens from all areas of the city together to celebrate. The strategically centralized focus of the street festival ensures optimal impact of the event. Expanding to other venues could dilute the energy and momentum created in a centralized location. The Special Event industry has shown that spreading a festival too thin across a wide area can lessen the effect of an event. With increased travel time between venues and events, individuals would not experience the full flavour of the event.
Also, expanding to other venues, logistically, would impact the management of the event. The cost of managing and facilitating the activities at several sites would increase thereby burdening the operational budget and resources.
Sponsors more readily support events that are focused and draw a large crowd where they can market their product and feel they are getting value for their investment dollars or in-kind support. If the event is spread too thinly over several venues, the perception might be that attendance has decreased even though it has in fact increased. Sponsors are very concerned with reaching maximum market audience and seeing thousands and thousands of people in one location is a strong selling feature to garner sponsorship dollars and support.
The Special Events Office has been working with organizers to facilitate and position a Blues Festival slated for the Lakeshore area of Etobicoke on or around the same weekend as the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival. Blues and jazz have traditionally drawn large crowds. It is anticipated that this festival will be no exception.
Etobicoke has also been identified as one of the sites for the city’s first Swing Music Festival scheduled for Fall 1999. It is anticipated that this unique festival will have more of an east-west focus including Scarborough and other downtown sites yet to be determined. This vibrant event will feature Swing, the hottest trend in music, dancing under the stars with dance lessons for all culminating in a fire works spectacular in the different regions of our city. It is anticipated to be a huge success for local communities and the city as a whole.
Conclusion:
For reasons of access, logistics, corporate sponsorship and overall success, Special Events recommends that one strong festival site along Yonge Street for the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival be maintained. It is anticipated that the Special Events Office and the Festival Liaison Unit will develop a strong relationship with other organizers to promote and showcase Etobicoke and other diverse, vibrant communities.
Contact Name:
Jaye Robinson
395-7310
Joe Halstead,
Commissioner, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism
