Yesterday (Thursday), the provincial government announced the Tourism Events Program (TEP) will be making donations to 100 upcoming events across the province.
Coldsnap 2023 was one of four Prince George events named.
“We are very excited, the investment in our festival just means we get to do cooler things,” said Katherine Benny, Coldsnap’s Assistant Executive Director, and Communications Manager.
The festival will be receiving $16,000 from the TEP donation campaign.
“This year those dollars will be used for marketing efforts… to reach communities outside of Prince George and really make Coldsnap a destination event.”
The annual music festival is set to begin on January 27th and run to February 4th.
Especially with the extra marketing budget, Benny is hoping the festival will return to pre-pandemic crowd sizes.
“In total, we really hope to see about 3,000-4,000 concert goers,” she said. “This grant from the provincial government is going to help us reach audiences outside of the city’s boundaries. This is a resilient little festival.”
Coldsnap has run every year since 2008, including through the pandemic. Last year it was delayed into the spring because of pandemic restrictions.
Benny also mentioned the festival is still looking to fill some time slots with local talent. For more information on that, and the festival, click here.
The other three events in Prince George that received a TEP donation are:
- 2023 BC Gourmet Arts Festival – $14,400
- 2023 Northern BC Indigenous Arts Festival – $14,400
- 2023 World Junior/U23 Cross Country Skiing Trials – $10,000