Festival Players seeks revisit of in-kind request
Administrator | Nov 07, 2016 | Comments 0
UPDATE: Motion for funding failed.
County council, on Tuesday night, will review further financial information related to the Prince Edward County Festival Players’ seeking the municipality to honour an in-kind request to use Mt Tabor Theatre during its 10th anniversary season this past year.
The theatre company’s request, valued at$2,500, was deferred from the Committee of the Whole in October. Courtney Quebec had addressed the committee on behalf of Festival Players, providing background that stated the company received an$11,850 grant from the municipality and later came to understand that its ask for in-kind use of Mt. Tabor was specifically denied.
“After an otherwise successful 10th anniversary season, we have struggled with the loss of a significant grant which we had been receiving for the past seven years, that represented 15 per cent of our operating budget,” said Sarah Phillips, the Players’ Artistic Director, in a letter to council. “We took great care to adjust and trim where possible but will likely end in a deficit position this year. This could be somewhat ameliorated if council would consider this cash request.”
Quebec, at the committee of the whole meeting, explained the company’s grant application to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport was denied this year as the ministry received four times the number of expected applications and favoured bigger events that bring a larger number of tourists to the venues.
Festival Players is facing a $24,000 deficit at the end its fiscal year.
Festival Players received $11,850 in funding from the municipality in the 2016 budget. Grants are determined as part of the budget process in December for the following year.
Staff noted the options for council are to fund all, a portion, or none of the additional funding requested by the Prince Edward County Festival Players.
Filed Under: Arts & Culture • Local News
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