Celebrate Ontario

Attention: This program is currently closed. You can speak with a member of our team about future intake periods or similar funding programs you may be eligible for, get email updates through our weekly newsletter, or look through our list of available funding programs in our directory page.

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Receive up to $250,000 in Grant Funding.

The Celebrate Ontario program offers grant funding to festivals, events, and cultural organizations that will host tourism-focused events in the province. Tourism grants support the operating expenses and/or promotional costs of new and existing events with the expectation that the funding will lead to long-term improvements, sustainability, and attraction of additional tourists.

Funding Amount

Access up to 50% of costs to a maximum $250,000 per event.

Eligible Applicants

Incorporated Ontario businesses with 1+ years of legal status are eligible to apply.

Eligible Activities

Cost of advertising, fees paid to artists, musicians, performers, celebrities and technical and stage crews.

Deadline to Apply

The program is accepting applications through designated intake periods.

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Celebrate Ontario

Amount of Funding

Through the Celebrate Ontario program, event organizers can access up to $250,000 in grants for tourism projects.

Existing Events: Up to 50% of the event’s cash operating expenses OR 15% of the most recently held event’s operating expenses.
New Events: Up to 50% of event programming and marketing expenses OR 15% of the event’s projected cash operating expenses.

Amount of Funding from the Canadian Government

Celebrate Ontario

Eligible Applicants

To access Celebrate Ontario tourism grants, applicants must:

Be based in Ontario;
Have legal status for a minimum of one year as of January 1, 2019; and
Be federally or provincially incorporated, established under legislation, a Band Council established under the Indian Act, or another incorporated Indigenous organization.

Eligible Applicants for Canadian Government Funding

Celebrate Ontario

Eligible Activities

For events to be deemed eligible for Celebrate Ontario funding, they must:

Be open to the general public without membership;
Be an annual or biennial event;
Occur in Ontario; and
Occur between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020.

Existing vs. New Celebrate Ontario Events

As defined by Celebrate Ontario, eligible events are either:

Existing Events: An annual or biennial event that previously occurred at least once in the last two years.
New Events: Include inaugural events, events that have not occurred in Ontario before, or events that have occurred in Ontario but not within the last two years.

Eligible Project Costs

Projects funded by Celebrate Ontario should encourage increased tourist visitation and spending. The program will provide Ontario government grants to offset the following project expenses:

Fees paid to artists, musicians, performers, celebrities, special guests, and speakers, including travel and accommodation and entertainment agencies;
Fees paid for new programming and activities;
Movable Temporary Assets (such as stages and equipment)
Fees paid for audio and visual support, technical and stage crews;
New or improved visitor services;
Eco-friendly services;
Improved accessibility services;
Targeted paid advertising (Eg: Broadcast or electronic);
Distribution costs for printed materials (Note: All printing costs are ineligible for funding);
Exterior ad space (Eg: Billboards and transit shelter spaces);
Geo-targeted digital and social media advertising; and
Marketing material translation costs.