Does Sound of Music have a future? BPAC said it would continue with the support it had provided in the past.

By Pepper Parr

November 28th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

At the October 6th Standing Committee of Council it was decided to:

Decline Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival Inc.’s 2026 funding request and discontinue municipal financial support due to ongoing financial instability and non-compliance with Agreements conditions; and

Approve the reallocation of $150,000—originally designated for Sound of Music in the 2026 Operating Budget—to the Community Investment Fund. This adjustment will enhance support for a broader range of festivals and events across Burlington, promote greater equity and sustainability in cultural programming, and create opportunities to potentially support a new music festival and/or provider in 2026; and

Direct staff to report back to Council on exploration of potential opportunities for a different form of music festival and/or a different operator of a music festival at Spencer Smith Park, following a call for expressions of interest from potential event organizers; and

Remove Council’s Ex Officio appointment from the Burlington Sound of Music Inc. Board of Directors. A Council Member was appointed in 2022 under MO-03-22 for the duration of the term, building on a 2019 request from SOM (COW-11-19) to reinstate a Council-appointed ex-officio position.

The City asked for feedback from citizens.  That survey closed November 17th.

The recommendation was seen as the end of Sound of Music, a free musical festival that has run as a free concert for more than 30 years.

There were internal management problems at the Sound of Music that resulted in the very abrupt resignation of the then Executive Director

SoM did have its internal management problems; it was also facing a much different economy.  Many felt the time had come for some kind of an entrance fee to make the event financially sustainable.   The Mayor was close to being adamant about the event being free.

The city set a deadline of November 27th for anyone who could put together a festival using the $150,000 the city would make available.

It seemed ludicrous that the city would walk away from an event that was signature to the city and a huge boost to the local hospitality sector.

During the October 6th meeting, Sarah Plamieri, Burlington Performing Arts Executive Director delegated explaining the role BPAC played as the Premium Sponsor of the Festival.

Sara Palmieri: Executive Director, Burlington Performing Arts Center. Eight months into the job – sets out an ambitious agenda – with caveats all over the place.

This BPAC arrangement didn’t work out and eventually resulted in the appointment of Sara Palmieri as Executive Director. Cleaning up the mess and finding a path that permits BPAC to support SoM without damaging what BPAC is in place to deliver might be a challenge. In her report to Council Palmieri made it very clear what they could do and couldn’t do. There was even a hint of what they wouldn’t do.

Sara Palmieri: Executive Director of the Burlington Performing Arts Center

“My name is Sara Palmieri. I’m the Executive Director of the Burlington Performing Arts Center (BPAC). I stepped into this role about eight months ago, and I’m pleased to be here today to provide council with an update on BPAC involvement with the Sound of Music Festival, and also to share a little bit about BPAC direction.

“I’m pleased to be joined by BPAC Board Chair Peter Van Dyke and our Vice Chair, Jim Thompson.  I’d like to focus on three main areas, BPAC’s  partnership with The Sound of Music Festival, the history of our involvement, what we’ve contributed, and what we stand in for  2026 our role and our mandate as a cultural anchor and community Performing Arts Center, and our financial stewardship and reserves; how we’re using them responsibly, and our broader direction for renewal and growth.

“BPAC’s first involvement with SoM was in 2024 under my predecessor.  The arrangement was not formalized through a clear agreement, and it created some challenges and placed strains on our resources in 2020.  The BPAC Board and Interim Executive Director at the time worked together to establish a proper Sponsorship Agreement with the festival.

That partnership went very smoothly in 2025. Our support included paying a $100,000 financial sponsorship, supplying technical support for Battle of the Bands over the course of four months, hosting the Battle of the Bands finale in our Community Studio theater, managing VIP ticketing and memberships through our box office on behalf of the festival’s behalf, hosting and overseeing the BPAC Plaza stage with our staff, our volunteers, our technical equipment and our audience support.

We committed to a two-year sponsorship, which created both an opportunity to support the festival and the city and an opportunity to elevate BPAC’s brand and visibility at the same time.  Consistent data around audience numbers, economic impact and brand visibility and reach has not always been available, which makes it difficult to fully measure the return on investment, and we look forward to having clear impact measures in order to assess the value of such partnerships. While we’ve made it very clear that our support in 2026 will remain, the SoM needs to be financially sound, have a clear plan in place and has secured support from funders, sponsors and the community.

“We were also clear with SoM that BPAC sponsorship is not intended to pay down deficits, and that our resources must remain focused on our mandate and our future priorities. It is also important that everyone understands the BPAC role.   We are a community cultural center. We’re a performing arts venue. We’re not a festival organizer. We are a not-for-profit, registered charitable organization with a mandate to present, support and grow the performing arts in Burlington. We are a cultural anchor for Burlington. We’re a big, shiny community center where residents can gather and connect and celebrate. Over the next three years, we’re working to expand our visibility and deepen engagement through programming and education initiatives, community access programs that open our stages and our spaces to local groups; charitable initiatives that ensure equity and participation and ongoing partnerships with incredible local organizations.

“It’s also important to note that the BPAC  board has worked tirelessly over the past 16 months to strengthen governance and transparency, including a complete update of governance policies, ensuring that BPAC is well managed, accountable and aligned with best practices.

Palmieri: BPAC is in a stable financial position.

“It’s also an opportunity for us to share with Council our broader direction and priorities around audience development and community engagement, sponsorship and donor growth. We’re also re-engaging the business community in growing philanthropic support to strengthen sustainability and growth of our community and our access program investment in people and infrastructure.

“After years of an operational surplus and a growing capital reserve we’re now using our reserves responsibly to strengthen our organization. We are planning for major capital needs, including a new roof in 2031 as well as technology and facility upgrades that will ensure BPAC continues to serve Burlington for decades to come, as well as strategic alignment with the city. We acknowledge that BPAC is in a stable financial position.

“We’re running planned deficits in 2025 and over the next few years. In order to make these critical investments using our reserves to bridge this period responsibly, it’s important for us to speak to our financial reserve as there’s been some public discussion about its size as part of our public 2024, audited financial statements.

“BPAC holds an accumulated surplus reserve of approximately $5.18 million. These reserves are not excess funds. They’re not the result of operating surpluses. Today, the board has an approved plan to put these reserves to work through strategic investments, future capital needs and responsible risk management.

We’re currently in a period of planned board approved deficits. In 2025 we’re projecting a deficit of approximately $269,000 in 2026 we’re projecting a deficit of approximately $211,000 both deficits will be offset by a responsible draw from our reserve. In addition to the BPAC Reserve, also covering unplanned necessary facility expenses in 2025 including the repair of a groundwater leak at the facility and the replacement of critical information technology and network switches. Our goal is to return to a balanced budget by the 2028 fiscal year, ensuring that our reserves are used responsibly to bridge this period of renewal and investment while continuing to refine our long term strategy for the stewardship and future use.

“This approach reflects good governance. and accountability, and we have a solid based and strength and governance, and we’re leveraging both our reserves and the city’s ongoing investment responsibly together these position BPAC to remain strong and resilient and be able to serve Burlington for decades to come, to come, it’s important to stress that while BPAC is in a stable position, our reserves are already allocated to bridge plan deficits, address urgent needs and prepare for major projects like the roof in 2031 the city’s annual operating grant continues to be the cornerstone of our stability.

Palmieri: Our support for the Sound of Music Festival has been significant, and we remain committed to a partnership in 2026

“What these reserves allow us to do is to leverage that investment responsibly protecting the city’s contribution while giving BPAC the ability to invest in our facility, our people, our programming and our community.  Our support for the Sound of Music Festival has been significant, and we remain committed to a partnership in 2026, but it’s clear that BPAC cannot expand its role or its level of financial support over what has already been committed to.

Palmieri: “We are not in a position to take on a bigger role or provide larger financial support.”

“In closing, we’re in a period of renewal and growth. We’re financially stable and strategically investing in our people and our facility and focused on deepening our engagement with Burlington residents, businesses and cultural partners. I want to make it clear again that we will continue to support the SoM should things move ahead in 2026 but it must ensure it aligns with our mandate and capacity.

“We are not in a position to take on a bigger role or provide larger financial support.

“Thank you, and I’m happy to take any questions.”

The public, for the most part, was not aware of just how involved BPAC was with the SoM in the past few years nor did most people know anything about the size of the reserves..  They are the result of an amount that is added to the purchase of every ticket for every event put on at the Performing Arts Centre.  That has to be seen as very prudent stewardship.

Yesterday was the closing date for those who wanted to express an interest in putting on a SoM event in 2026 with the $150,00 the city was prepared to put on the table.