This year 38 events in Surrey will receive a share of more than $1 million from the B.C. government’s Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund.
The BCFFE is designed to help event planners recover from challenges such as cost increases, reduced revenue and sponsorships, rising costs of equipment and services and severe weather events.
Top-dollar funding in Surrey includes $200,000 for the FVDED In The Park music festival and $89,700 for the Surrey Fusion Festival, both held at Holland Park in July, and $139,700 for Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair, on the Victoria Day long weekend.
Across B.C. this year and next, more than 1,100 events will be given grants through the $15-million BCFFE Fund.
The application deadline was Feb. 25.
“Due to the overwhelming demand and to ensure every eligible applicant received funding,” says a post on the BCFFE website, “an additional $5 million in Tourism Events Program funding was provided, totaling $20 million for events in B.C.”
A search of the BCFFE website reveals the 38 Surrey events funded, including a National Indigenous Peoples Day gathering ($20,400), Cloverdale Constellation Festival ($98,900), Cloverdale Country Music Festival ($85,000), Royal Bhangra Competition ($13,100), Surrey Canada Day ($71,000), 5X Festival ($36,700), the Canada Cup softball tournament ($53,100) and more.
Other events approved for funding include several sports tournaments, theatre productions, Surrey Greek Food Festival and the Spooktacular Newton Halloween event.
In February, Live Nation Entertainment and Blueprint Events announced the return of Surrey’s FVDED in the Park musical festival, July 5-6 at Holland Park, where tens of thousands of ticket-holders will gather. Last summer, the electronic and hip-hop festival was “on pause” for a year due to “difficulties” that weren’t detailed when the cancellation was announced in March 2023.
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Since 2021 the B.C. government has provided $80 million through the Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund, “helping event organizers to overcome ongoing challenges and ensure fun experiences are available for residents and visitors around the province.”
“Whether it is dance competitions, sporting events or music festivals, Surrey is well known for hosting incredible events throughout the year,” Garry Begg, MLA for Surrey-Guildford, said in a news release from the party’s B.C. government caucus.
“I’ve been fortunate to attend so many of them and I know just how much fun they can be. The support our government is providing helps the organizers, staff and volunteers to put on amazing events for both locals and tourists.”
The BCFFE provides up to about 20 per cent of a total event budget, up to a maximum of $250,000 per event. An event budget must be at least $10,000.
“You can use these funds to cover a range of operational expenses,” the BCFFE explains. “Depending on the uptake, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport may provide grant amounts higher or lower than 20% of the event budget. The total funding for each event will not exceed $250,000. Total funding per organization will not exceed $500,000.”
