As the Victoria Day Parade prepares to mark its 125th edition this May, organizers are grappling with a familiar challenge — doing more with less.
Despite its status as a major tourist attraction and long-standing cultural staple, the Greater Victoria Festival Society (GVFS) is contending with stagnant municipal support, rising insurance costs, and shifting provincial funding priorities – all of which are squeezing an already tight budget, said Kelly Kurta, executive director of the society.
“We’ve had the same $17,000 from the City of Victoria for six or seven years. It hasn’t changed, despite rising costs across the board. We’re looking at close to $100,000 to put this parade on," she said.
While the city has verbally indicated a modest increase to approximately $22,900 this year, Kurta said it still falls short of what’s needed for an event that draws up to 75,000 spectators and fills more than 1,000 hotel room nights over the long weekend.
Compounding the issue is the recent exclusion of parades from the province’s Destination Events Grant Program – a change from the former BC Fairs, Festivals and Events fund, which contributed upwards of $20,000 annually in recent years.
“That’s a big hit,” Kurta said. “Parades are economic drivers, especially in smaller communities. Here in Victoria, people fly in, take the Coho, ride BC Ferries – they’re spending money downtown, staying in hotels. It’s not just a feel-good event. It’s an economic engine.”
Victoria councillor Matt Dell acknowledged the funding pressures facing local festivals, noting that the Victoria Day Parade is funded through the city's Festival Investment Grant program, which supports 45 annual events across the region, including JazzFest, Centennial Square celebrations, and more.
He said council prioritized Canada Day this year in light of broader geopolitical concerns.
“With the trade war with the U.S., many on council felt it was important to maintain a larger Canada Day celebration,” Dell said. “That said, we do need to keep increasing support for our other festivals as costs continue to rise, and I’ll be looking into ways to do that shortly.”
He noted there was a funding increase for festival grants in 2023.
Kurta, who has served as part-time executive director for over a decade, said the GVFS is used to stretching every dollar — but the lack of increased support, especially in a landmark year, is disheartening.
“In 1989, the city gave us $50,000 for the parade. Now, we’re lucky to get half that. How does that make sense?” she said. “We submitted a grant proposal last September asking for $150,000, hoping to maybe get $75K. It’s our 125th anniversary. That’s a big deal.”
This year’s milestone celebration features not only the parade itself, but a full weekend of festivities – including cultural performances, a parade of bands, and a revamped One World Multicultural Festival, now moved to Saturday to give volunteers a break after years of 16-hour days.
Still, Kurta says the show will go on – because the community demands it.
“They come out rain or shine. We’ve had atmospheric rivers, and people still line the streets,” she said. “We’ll make it happen, but we could do so much more with just a little more help.”
