The city workers' strike—now in its fourth week—has led to cancellations, venue changes, and additional costs for summer festivals and events across Toronto. About 30,000 unionized civic employees walked off the job June 22. Since then, there has been no garbage pick up or island ferry service, and many city-run facilities have been closed. In some cases that has left event organizers scrambling to make alternate arrangements. (Negotiations are ongoing but there has been no indication as to when the strike may end.)
Jacoba Knaapen, producer of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, held June 29 at the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre, had planned to host an after-party for more than 700 guests in a series of tents at Metro Hall Square, loutside the Metro Hall municipal building where striking workers have been picketing. "It was the 30th anniversary, so I wanted to recognize the occasion with a fabulous after-party," she said. “We had booked an 11-person band, a hip-hop dance troupe, tents, a bubble machine. The entire affair was going to be outside under the stars. It would have been memorable.”
However, when Knaapen, who also serves as executive director of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, got word in early June that a strike was probable and Metro Hall would not be available, she began searching for a different space. On June 26, just three days prior to the event, she moved the party to the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. “Without a doubt it was challenging, but having the heads-up that the strike was coming allowed us to put a contingency plan in place in early June," she said. "Was it the event we had envisioned and planned for seven months? No, it was not. But we moved forward. We had no choice."
Knaapen canceled the tents (which had been donated) and the 11-piece band (due to lack of space at the new venue) and notified suppliers of the change in delivery address. “Most guests didn’t know the after-party had changed until they were at the event,” she said, explaining that ShopDineTour Toronto, an event sponsor and bus operator, changed its route to transport guests from the award show to the new party space.
Rob Andrusevich, senior communications advisor with the City of Toronto, reported that all city-run events have been canceled for the duration of the strike. "Some large special events that are not organized by the city are going to go ahead. Essentially, they have to become self-sufficient,” he said, noting that event organizers may not have access to things like public washrooms, electrical hook ups, and litter clean up.
Andrusevich said city officials have been meeting with organizers of large-scale events like the Taste of Lawrence street festival, held in Scarborough from July 3 to 5, to ensure organizers are aware that city supports won't be available. "In some cases groups are having to take on additional work," he said.
Lido Chilelli, executive director and producer of the Beaches International Jazz Festival, said the 10-day event, which begins Friday, will go ahead as planned with more than 100 bands scheduled to perform at several stages. However, he said the strike has presented numerous challenges.
“All of the city park bathrooms are closed, so we had to bring in more [portable toilets] to accommodate the crowd," he said. "It’s definitely an inconvenience and it’s more costly. The worst part though is the damage control. Is it canceled? Is it on? People are calling me from Ottawa and from British Columbia asking if the festival is still on and whether the garbage will impede them from walking the streets."
Chilelli said his team had to clean up the litter in Woodbine Park, one of the festival sites, beforehand. "The grass is really tall because it hasn’t been cut in four weeks, so it still looks a little rough," he said, adding that the strike will cost the festival thousands of dollars. “I won’t know the exact amount until it’s over. But it’s money we didn’t budget for.”
Meanwhile, the Driftwood Theatre Company, which performs Shakespeare in parks and outdoor venues in cities across Ontario each summer, was forced to cancel the opening celebrations for its 15th season this past weekend. The company was set to open with King Lear and A Comedy of Errors at Todmorden Mills, where rehearsals had been under way for two weeks prior to the start of the strike.
“It is a city-run facility so as soon as the strike hit we were kicked out,” said Jeremy Smith, the company's artistic director. That loss of performance space and rehearsal time meant the company wouldn't have been prepared to open this past weekend even if another site could have been secured, Smith said. The theatre troupe launched the season Tuesday with a show in Oshawa.
The company has six additional dates scheduled in Toronto, at Trinity Bellwoods Park (July 28 to 30) and Withrow Park (August 20 to 23). “We’re feeling very positive about those dates, providing they don’t start using the parks as dump sites [for garbage]," Smith said, explaining the shows will likely go ahead because the troupe doesn't require city support in those locations.
The strike also caused organizers of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival, which normally launches with a noon-hour event outside City Hall in Nathan Phillips Square, to move Tuesday’s kickoff ceremony to Yonge-Dundas Square. Event organizers may also have to move the Toronto Caribana Island Festival, scheduled for August 2 on Olympic Island, to another venue because there is no ferry service due to the strike.
