Ontario Trillium Fund Grant Sustains Collingwood Music Festival

On Thursday July 7th, Keith Hull, Mayor of Collingwood, proclaimed July 9th-15th as Summer Festival Week! Newly elected MPP Brian Saunderson joined the event to officially congratulate the Collingwood Music Festival for the work its done with a six-month, $63,500 Resilient Communities Fund grant awarded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) earlier this year. The grant program was established in 2020 to help non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impact of COVID-19.

"Congratulations to Daniel Vnukowski and his team at the Collingwood Music Festival on receiving this significant grant," said Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey. "It is wonderful to be gathering in person again to enjoy the world class talent that they have assembled for this year's music festival."

Funds from the grant have been used to help the Festival with its ongoing work to bring exceptional performances to Collingwood, featuring award-winning artists in the fields of classical, world, jazz and Indigenous genres. Thanks to the grant, festival organizers were able to hire a project manager and social media person to help increase their reach and create more hybrid possibilities. Funds were also used to help with some administrative and rental costs, with things like stages, lighting and tents rentals and technicians to assist with set up.

"In 2022, our audiences are craving live, in-person, music experiences once again. The Resilient Communities Fund grant allows us to recover from the detrimental financial burden of two lost seasons due to the impacts of COVID-19, while helping us to rebuild our image as a bona-fide provider of quality concerts," exclaimed Daniel Vnukowski, Artistic Director of the Collingwood Music Festival. He continued: "We are excited about bringing top-name artists and ensembles to South Georgian Bay this summer, while significantly expanding our youth activities at Duntroon Highlands Golf."

The 2022 Collingwood Music Festival runs Saturday July 9th through Friday July 15th, with a stellar line-up which including the National Academy Orchestra, Sing! A Cappella harmony groups, iskwē and Tom Wilson, The Penderecki String Quartet, KUNÉ Global Orchestra The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, and the Rolston String Quartet. The venue for all concerts (with the exception of Youth Day) is First Presbyterian Church at 200 Maple Street, in the heart of downtown Collingwood. It is wheelchair-friendly, offering easy access for patrons with special mobility needs.
Festival passes or single concert tickets may be ordered at: https://collingwoodfestival.com/buy-tickets/

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada's leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario's Community Building Fund. Since 2020, OTF has supported Ontario's economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

The Collingwood Music Festival is also a proud recipient of funding support from Simcoe County, the Town of Collingwood and Regional Tourism Organization 7.

The Collingwood Summer Music Festival acknowledges that the area in which we work is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat peoples and is subject to Treaty 18, 1818 of the Upper Canada Treaties.

Photo Caption:

L-R: Ontario Trillium Foundation Representative Debora Bloom Hall, MP Terry Dowdall, MPP Brian Saunderson, festival director Daniel Vnukowski and Mayor Keith Hull celebrate the opening of the 2022 Collingwood Music Festival.
Credit: Tjalling Photography

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