By Pepper Parr
May 7th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The staff recommendation to City Council next will be to approve a short-term loan to Sound of Music Inc. in the upset amount of $225,000 to support cash flow requirements for the 2025 Sound of Music Festival, similar to the 2024 loan, the terms of the 2025 request include repayment in full immediately following the 2025 festival.
Reports states that the 2024 loan has a small ($20,000) outstanding balance.
The public shows up, just because the price is right?
Due to financial strain from rising costs, staffing turnover, and post-pandemic impacts, SOM requested additional support from the City in 2024, receiving over $415,000 in total aid from the City, including a $125,000 short-term loan.
Despite efforts to stay financially sustainable, challenges persist in maintaining a large-scale free event. In October 2024, the City invoiced SOM for $95,000 in outstanding payments and requested repayment of the loan by December 11, 2024, asking SOM to settle the debt or present a repayment plan. In December, staff brought a 2024 festival re-cap and city support report before committee identifying re-payment plan options for SOM.
These discussions on December 2, 2024, at the Committee of the Whole Meeting were deferred after a private donor expressed interest in supporting the festival. The donor made a $200,000 donation to the City, which the City applied to, among other things, SOM’s debt to the City of Burlington. As a result, SOM’s debt to the City was reduced to $20,000.
In early 2025, SOM and the City signed a detailed service level agreement, based on principles set out in the Accountability Framework. As a part of this agreement, the following conditions were established:
Any remaining debt must be repaid by September 1, 2025.
SOM must also submit a business plan for the 2026 festival by June 1, 2025, for approval by key city staff.
2025 Festival
SOM is working diligently to finalize preparations for this year’s festival. SOM has advised the City that they have successfully reduced costs for this year’s festival while continuing to offer high-quality programming for the community.
Due to the need to cover entertainment and supplier contract expenses in advance of the event, the BOD is requesting a loan of $225,000 from the City. SOM has agreed to repay the loan following the festival, including the small remaining balance of $20,000 from prior 2024 debt.
The festival was run responsibly for years by David Miller, an active board who volunteered and managed their areas of the festival. Huge base of community volunteers who worked their butts off to keep the festival free. The board was taken over by a group of non active members not responsible for anything. As many volunteers told the city this takeover of a non profit will fail. Over many many years a 2 year surplus was amassed to protect the festival during a bad weather years. Volunteer appreciation was always top of the list for the 2 or 3 full timers before became non existent to new hires who replaced people who were pushed out or quit. It took years to build a volunteer base who enjoyed returning every. It was a big family who returned every year and loved the hard work. The new board made it very clear that were not interested in the opinion of the family and how they were easily replaceable. So half left the first year and another 40% the next as the new hires decided they just needed to drive around in golf watching volunteers do everything. Wow to go bankrupt and loses 200,000.00 a couple of years later. It can not be fixed without lots of volunteers. Most of the setup now is done by contractors. Now they depend on government grants, city loans and community donors to bail them out. Other festivals go bankrupt if they are not managed properly why allow an exemption in this case. Oakville tried charging and they still could not make it work.
Enough already with free stuff that people are willing to pay for. Free can send the unintended message the event is not of high enough value.
I agree. This is now out of control.Most attendees are not Burlington residents imo.Even my teen grandkids who live here don’t go …too crowded.
SOM should e charging admission.
they should charge admission
Maybe they should go back to being a small scale festival or even mid scale. It was better when it was small anyway.