Toronto Waterfront Festival to pause, pledges return
· Toronto Sun
Looks like they’re ducking out.
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Citing a lack of funding, the Toronto Waterfront Festival , an annual Harbourfront gathering that features live entertainment, tall ships and the world’s largest rubber duck, will not go ahead this season, the festival said in a news release.
But there are plans to come back next year in a bigger way.
The festival says excitement over the FIFA World Cup has created competition for event sponsorship, and it finds itself in a cash crunch that it can’t escape, adding that this is the first time in its 16-year history that it has received no government funding.
“The Toronto Waterfront Festival has been an award-winning event for 16 years,” Mike Riehl, chair, Water’s Edge Festivals and Events Board of Directors, said in a news release. “We have welcomed millions of visitors, driven tens of millions of dollars in economic impact, and consistently delivered world-class programming that put Toronto’s waterfront on an international scale. Taking a year off is not a decision we made lightly. As a free, not-for-profit festival, without any government grant support and a decrease in corporate sponsorship, we are not in a financial position to put on a successful event for 2026. We are committed to doing this right, and we will be back.”
‘Giant’ return
The festival is pledging a “giant” 2027 festival, with the return of Mama Duck, a six-storey, 16,000-pound rubber duck that the festival claims has brought more than $9 million in tourism.
“Mama Duck floated into Toronto in 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. A decade later, we felt it was only fitting for her to waddle back for Canada’s 160th in 2027,” says festival co-producer Victoria Mahoney.