The City of Victoria is getting behind a bid to bring back Symphony Splash.
Council voted Thursday to approve four applications under the city’s new Major Community Initiatives and Events grant program, including a $250,000 grant to resurrect Symphony Splash.
The event was cancelled during the pandemic and replaced with an outdoor concert series around the city.
“Symphony Splash has got to be one of the most iconic events in the city’s history. I don’t know why it stopped. But I’m excited that there’s an interest in bringing this back,” said Coun. Matt Dell. “I think most of the public is going to be thrilled if we can say we’re partnering with the Victoria Symphony to bring back this iconic event.”
The Victoria Symphony had requested the $250,000 to resurrect the event over the B.C. Day long weekend in 2025.
The plan is for an expanded three-day event in the Inner Harbour with the Symphony Splash anchoring it on the Sunday. There would be two other days of music and arts programming on the floating stage in the harbour, expected to attract as many as 50,000 people over the weekend.
The new grant program is designed to provide financial support for projects that will have a significant economic or cultural impact on the community, such as Hockey Day in Canada and the Tall Ships Festival.
Under the guidelines established by council, events should have a proven track record, preferably be new and unique, attract a significant number of people, have a budget in excess of $100,000 and have a significant economic or cultural impact on the community.
They also have to be accessible to the public and applicants must be registered as a not-for-profit society, charitable organization, Songhees and Esquimalt First Nation council or urban Indigenous non-profit society.
Other grants approved Thursday include $131,000 for a music plaza renewal project by the Victoria Conservatory of Music, $250,000 for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2025, and $200,000 for the Downtown Victoria Business Association’s Lights of Wonder project in 2025.
The music plaza renewal project plans to re-invent the south side of the 900-block of Pandora Avenue — often occupied by people without homes — as a venue for future cultural events. It envisions increased park space, more access to Alix Goolden Hall and improvements to activate the space and create a more vibrant area.
The U-17 World Hockey Challenge will bring the best young players from Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland and Czechia to Victoria for a week in late October 2025 for a tournament.
And the Lights of Wonder has been transforming Centennial Square into a winter wonderland during the holiday season since 2019 with free entertainment and light exhibits.
Council did not approve an application for $250,000 from the Other Guise Theatre Society, which was seeking a grant to refinance its theatre space at 716 Johnson St. Several councillors said they had concerns about the application, which was referred to city staff to work with the proponent.
“I don’t see it as a special event at all,” said Coun. Marg Gardiner. “They have a problem that someone has taken back their offer of significant financial contribution. But that’s not really the problem for our taxpayers.”
Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said the projects that were approved — Lights of Wonder, Symphony Splash and a hockey tournament — all promise big returns.
“For me, this grant is not just about entertainment — it’s about economic vitality,” he said. “We’re talking about tens of thousands of people coming down, spending money in our restaurants, buying things in retail, spending a night in a hotel, and really being that injection of economic activity into downtown.”
The grant program has annual funding of $559,170 and will run as an 18-month pilot project.
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