New Westminster is urging the province to support the “urgent renewal” of the BC Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund which has supported 10 local events.
Council has unanimously passed a motion from Coun. Ruby Campbell to have the city write to Spencer Chandra Herbert, B.C’s tourism, arts, culture and sport minister, to support the urgent renewal of the fund. Through conversations with local arts groups and Arts New West, Campbell said she’s learned this funding may not be renewed.
According to Campbell, hundreds of B.C. organizations are part of a coalition asking the province to renew the funding. Without that funding, she said events like the Cultural Crawl could be at risk of proceeding.
“I think we need to advocate,” she said. “We know that arts is a strong component of our economic vitality and a strong component of economic development for New Westminster. And on that, I would like to hear from New Westminster organizations who might be impacted by the reductions of BC Fairs, Festivals and Events funding.”
Campbell’s motion stated that hundreds of B.C. arts and culture organizations have signed an open letter to Premier David Eby and Herbert to seek the renewal of the fund.
According to Campbell, 10 New Westminster events have benefited from the fund, including: Coastal Dance Festival 2025; Expressions of Reclamation; Mamma Mia!; Mary Poppins; New West Pride Festival and Pride Week; Performing Arts and Technology all-ages festival; RiverFest; Savage Summer music series; the New West Cultural Crawl; and Uptown Live.
The province’s website states the fund helps community event organizations recover from ongoing challenges related to cost increases, reduced revenue and sponsorships, rising costs of equipment and services, and severe weather events. The fund provides fairs, festivals and events (with a budget of at least $10,000) with up to 20 per cent of their total event budget, up to a maximum of $250,000 per event.
