Torotonians celebrated the Toronto Caribbean Carnival’s 52nd year this past weekend, taking in another dose of the great festivities that grace this fine city year-round.

General admission tickets ranged from $15 to $25, but if you wanted the VIP treatment, the price spiked up. Much of the accessibility of these festivals as well as their funding is made easier with government support. And Carnival benefited from this support, having received $250,000 from the government towards its 2019 celebrations.

Formerly Caribana, the Caribbean Carnival is just one of the many festivals benefitting in Toronto, as is noted in a 20-page report outlining the grants the government has shelled out for each festival in Ontario this year.

The report shows the funding numbers from the Celebrate Ontario 2019 program. The program “supports programming improvements at new and existing festivals that attract tourists for longer stays, create great experiences for visitors and support communities across Ontario,” according to the main website.

Those applying fall into two categories with $1 million being the benchmark in deciding additional financial requirements needed to be approved. Income statements and balance sheets are required and depending on the tier (under $1 million or over $1 million) applicants will need to file with the appropriate contacts.

The deadline to apply for the Celebrate 2019 program was January 19. Applicants were notified of their funding status in spring 2019.

Fifty-one Toronto festivals and events received government funding for this year. Cities like Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener and Mississauga each received funding for seven or eight festivals—a stark contrast to Toronto’s robust roster.

For 2019, the most awarded to any festival was $250,000, which went towards attractive events like Pride Toronto, the RBC Canada Open (Hamilton), the Ever After Music Festival (Kitchener), the Shaw Festival via Niagara on the Lake, the Escapade Music Festival (Ottawa), and the International Plow Match & Rural Expo held in West Nipissing, Ont.

Other Toronto festivals reaping bigger grants included arts and culture favourites like Nuit Blanche and Luminato. Rising tech events in Toronto like Elevate received $150,000, which is a good chunk of change, too.

The Joseph Brant Day Festival in Burlington received the smallest portion of funding among the bunch, pulling in $1,003, while the least amount provided for a festival in Toronto was $3,000, which went to Future Fan Fest. Among the festivals also receiving smaller fractions of funding included the Comedy Country 2019 event in Prince Edward County, which received $4,533, and the Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues Festival, which received a grant of $1,700.

In Toronto, these festivals were the recipients of the 2019 festival season support, which starts roughly around April and runs to October. And, of course, you can always just check back here, too, to get the lowdown on happenings in the city.

April 2019

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

Government grant: $154,750

Festival dates: April 25 – May 1

May 2019

CONTACT Photography Festival

Government grant: $203,018

Festival dates: May 1 – May 31

Future Fan Fest (website not connected at time of publishing)

Government grant: $3,000

Festival dates: May 4 – May 5

Canadian Music Week (CMW)

Government grant: $150,000

Festival dates: May 6 – May 12

Tastemaker Toronto

Government grant: $169,000

Festival dates: May 10 – May 12

Bathurst Street Fest

Government grant: $46,320

Festival date: May 20

SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival 2019

Government grant: $27,083

Festival dates: May 24 -June 2

June 2019

Pride Month and Festival Weekend

Government grant: $250,000

Festival dates: June 1 – June 30

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show 2019

Government grant: $20,750

Festival dates: June 2 – August 29

desiFEST

Government grant: $20,931

Festival dates: June 5 – June 8

Portugal Week 2019

Government grant: $81, 665

Festival dates: June 7 – June 10

Luminato

Government grant: $250,000

Festival dates: June 7 – June 23

2019 Italian Contemporary Film Festival

Government grant: $61,025

Festival dates: June 13 – June 21

Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival

Government grant: $34,875

Festival dates: June 15 – June 16

TD Toronto Jazz Festival

Government grant: $250,000

Festival dates: June 21 – June 30

Aga Khan Museum & Small World Music Summer Celebration

Government grant: $63,900

Festival dates: June 28 – September 2

July 2019

Redpath Waterfront Festival

Government grant: $100,000

Festival dates: June 29 – July 1

PS: Music Fest

Government grant: $77,000

Festival dates: July 3 – July 14

Shakespeare in High Park

Government grant: $66, 243

Festival dates: July 4 – September 1

AFROFEST 2019

Government grant: $28,750

Festival dates: July 5 – July 7

Franco-Fete 2019

Government grant: $25,834

Festival dates: July 5 – July 7

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Government grant: $100,000

Festival dates: July 5 – July 28

TD Salsa on St. Clair Street Festival

Government grant: $100,000

Festival dates: July 6 – July 7

FusionFest

Government grant: $9,454

Festival dates: July 7

Toronto Caribbean Carnival (Caribana)

Government grant: $250,000

Festival dates: July 9 – August 4

Honda Indy Toronto

Government grant: $226, 750

Festival dates: July 12 – July 14

Halal Food Fest TO

Government grant: $58, 334

Festival dates: July 20 – July 21

Festival Kompa Zouk

Government grant: $24, 795

Festival dates: July 25 – August 4

Tirgan Festival

Government grant: $114, 163

Festival dates: July 25 – July 28

August 2019

International Jerk Food & Music Festival

Government grant: $88, 922

Festival dates: August 9 – August 11

Taste of the Danforth

Government grant: $98, 500

Festival dates: August 9 – August 11

2019 Mulan International Film Festival

Government grant: $11, 500

Festival dates: August 10 – August 17

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)

Government grant: $198, 825

Festival dates: August 16 – September 2

Mabuhay! Philippines Festival

Government grant: $18,000

Festival dates: August 16 – August 25

2019 TAIWANfest

Government grant: $25,000

Festival dates: August 16 – August 18

Toronto Cider Festival

Government grant: $36,000

Festival dates: August 23 – August 24

Scarborough Afro Carib Fest

Government grant: $40, 046

Festival dates: August 23 – August 24

September 2019

Jesus in the City

Government grant: $12,078

Festival date: September 7

Great White North Dragon Boat Challenge

Government grant: $19,500

Festival dates: September 7 – September 8

Ukrainian Festival

Government grant: $75,000

Festival dates: September 13 – September 15

Roncesvalles Polish Festival

Government grant: $45, 465

Festival dates: September 14 – September 15

Nuit Blanche

Government grant: $250,000

Festival dates: September 15 – October 14

JFL42 – Toronto’s Comedy Festival

Government grant: ($250,000)

Festival dates: September 19 – September 29

Divas Half Marathon & 5K

Government grant: $17, 750

Festival dates: September 20 – September 23

Elevate

Government grant: $150,000

Festival dates: September 20 – September 26

The Word On The Street Toronto

Government grant: $74,000

Festival dates: September 21 – September 22

October 2019

29Rooms

Government grant: $250, 000

Festival dates: September 25 – October 6

Fall for Dance North 2019

Government grant: $126, 853

Festival dates: October 2 – October 6

Toronto Pumpkinfest

Government grant: $11, 748

Festival dates: October 12 – October 14

20th imagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival

Government grant: $100,000

Festival dates: October 22 – October 27

For 2020, the two entries that have received funding thus far are the Toronto Light Festival, which received $76, 250 and the Nowruz Festival secured $63, 114.