Out of over 500 applications for Celebrate Ontario grants, four London festivals were chosen to receive funding this year — adding to a total of $187,000 for these events.

LOLA Fest, Sunfest, the Home County Folk Festival and the Native Harvest Festival and Pow Wow of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology will all be given additional investments into their respective festivals. These grants will help improve programs and, ultimately, create jobs as part of the provincial government's Open Ontario Plan.

“We have a five year plan to support events...give them the support they need in order to be prosperous and add to our colour,” said Khalil Ramal, member of provincial parliament for London-Fanshawe.


“They work hard in the city of London to give the local community some flavour. This initiative will help us stimulate the economy by creating jobs, by supporting local businesses.”

Sunfest will be receiving $75,000; the Home County Folk Festival gets $30,000; and LOLA gets $60,000 — all three of these festivals have previously received funding from Celebrate Ontario. The newcomer, the Native Harvest Festival and Pow Wow, is receiving $22,000.

It's festivals like these that add cultural richness to the city, said MPP for London West, Chris Bentley.

“The arts are the soul of the community,” he said.

A representative from each festival was on hand during the announcement of the grants on April 9 at Aeolian Hall. Each representative noted the money will go to including more performers, more workshops and other improvements from shuttle buses to increasing marketing, as the Native Harvest hopes to do, said Anne Pedersen, the museum's marketing and development director.

The festivals will be happening all this summer and into September — with the following dates:

- Sunfest - July 8 to 11
- Home County Folk Festival - July 16 to July 18
- LOLA — September 16 to 19
- Native Harvest Festival and Pow Wow — September 18 and 19.