The Ottawa Festival Network – contributing to a vibrant festival city!

An interview with Executive Director, Tara Shannon.

By Robin Etherington

Tara Shannon is active in the music industry as teacher, mentor, entertainer, and as co-founder of a group of companies spanning different industries, including her record label, Willow Sound Records. She leverages her distinctive experiences in founding and managing businesses to equip music creators with the necessary tools to navigate today’s music industry. And, she is the Executive Director of the Ottawa Festivals Network (OFN) – a not-for-profit service organization that works to create an effective networking environment for festivals, fairs, and special events in the Ottawa region. 

What is the greatest challenge for the OFN?                                                                                                     

The greatest challenge is meeting all of the needs of Ottawa’s festival community with the small OFN staff and budget. I wish we could do more to alleviate the “pain points” for our festival members – lack of funding, challenges in human resources, job creation sustainability, dealing with extreme weather, increasing costs since COVID, cost of living increases for our visitors and community, financial sustainability, lessening the dependency on grants, and consistent and affordable city services for the festivals. We need a robust sustainability model for all Ottawa festivals. Right now, the OFN has a seat at the Night Life Council and the Mayor’s Economic Council, and we have good working relationship with both the city’s Cultural and Economic Development departments, as the festival sector is an economic driver for Ottawa.

The OFN is the only municipal not-for-profit, city-led “festivals” organization in Canada. In 1996, three festivals formed the OFN, and the City of Ottawa supported it with funding. The city partnered with the OFN for the sustainability and emergency fund. OFN members can invest in this fund and/or receive a loan from the fund. The OFN solely manages the investment fund, on behalf of its members.                                                  

What is OFN’s relationship with the City of Ottawa?

The OFN has a three-year service agreement with the City of Ottawa. The agreement is managed by the city’s Recreation and Culture Department. The OFN receives provincial funding to manage the job creation program for the festival sector. It is a Service Ontario grant program for skills development. OFN members take a candidate/trainee to develop skills for the festival and events sector. 

What are the funding resources for the OFN?

The OFN receives municipal and provincial grants, membership fees, donations, and sponsorships. It is a not-for-profit organization and not a registered charity. Therefore, it cannot provide donors with a tax receipt for their donations. However, the OFN appreciates receiving donations and sponsorships. 

What partnerships are happening that are unique and future-oriented?

The OFN has strong partnerships with:

• Volunteer Ottawa and has an OFN portal on Volunteer Ottawa’s website, 

• Ottawa Tourism and is working on a joint festival sector impact study,

• Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, strengthening ties between festivals and live music and Ottawa-based talent, e.g., Capital Music Week, as well as with the Ottawa Film Office and the City of Ottawa.

How do local performers participate in the OFN?

Bluesfest, City Folk, and the Festival of Small Halls all have local and Canadian performers, as part of their line ups. Sixty percent of OFN members have a live music component and most support local music. Ottawa music is a strong component of all festivals.

How do community people participate in the OFN?

Volunteering and attending festivals are two ways that our community people enjoy Ottawa Festivals. Businesses can get involved as participants and sponsors. For example, the City of Om Festival (yoga) showcases local businesses and instructors in the wellness business.

What are the challenges and opportunities for Ottawa’s culture-heritage-arts sector and that of Canada at large?

A critical opportunity for the culture sector entails rethinking how we approach our relationship with festival organizers and move towards a more sustainable model. The opportunity is to better manage the demand for limited resources. We need to look at how the City of Ottawa approaches key festivals, i.e., one-year permits. Let’s look at maybe expanding the permits to three or five-year permits with our keystone festivals. Currently, the city often provides permits only weeks before the festival starts, coupled with the fee being unknown until issued. This adds stress to organizing festivals. The city could work more efficiently with festivals, add more transparency, and remove unneeded stressors for all festival organizers, where possible. 

How do you plan to celebrate the City of Ottawa’s 200th Anniversary in 2026-2027 and OFN’s 30th Anniversary in 2026?

The OFN is part of the committee already formed to work with the City of Ottawa to celebrate Ottawa’s 200th Anniversary. For our 30th Anniversary in 2026, we are celebrating the people who work festivals: performers, organizers, volunteers, suppliers, supporters and partners.    

For more information about the OFN, check out their website at www.ottawafestivals.ca.