Community and Corporate Services Committee. SUBJECT: Report recommending approval of the 2015/2016 festivals and events

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1 Page 1 of Report PR TO: FROM: Community and Corporate Services Committee Parks and Recreation SUBJECT: Report recommending approval of the 2015/2016 festivals and events Report Number: PR Wards Affected: All File Numbers: Date to Committee: November 18, 2014 Date to Council: November 20, 2014 Recommendation: Approve the new festivals and events to be held between May 2015 and April 2016 as outlined in parks and recreation department report PR Appendix B; and Approve exemptions of Parks By-Law for specific events as outlined in parks and recreation department report PR Appendix A. Purpose: To share the successes and challenges of the 2014 event season, To highlight new, enhanced major events for the 2015/16 season, To share Sound of Music and Ribfest organizers plans to enhance their events and receive Committee s feedback on the proposal, To highlight potential event impacts in the 2015/16 season, and To share event process improvements to date and next steps. Background: Festival and events bring energy, smiles and enjoyment for residents and visitors. Festival and events bring community together from local neighbourhoods to the entire City. Festivals and events animate the vibrancy of neighbourhoods and build on community capacity and improve economic prosperity. The City supports festival and events organizers because they activate the community, achieving two of the three strategic goals; vibrant neighbourhoods and prosperity.

2 Page 2 of Report PR Some of the community feedback received is listed below: We came for the fireworks! They were the best I ve ever seen! It was well coordinated and fun! My son was very excited to see many of his favorite super heroes in person. He really enjoyed the live show put on by Spiderman and Batman. Great time, well organized. Lots of things to do for everyone in the family. I went with my daughter-in-law and thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought back some great memories for her when she watched the Muppets as a young girl. It brought back many great memories for me when my husband, my son and I used to watch the Muppets on Saturday nights many years ago. Many thanks to all those who made last night possible. Excellent initiative for the summer. Great time eating ice cream and enjoying the fresh outdoor air. My son loved it. I was blown away with how happy everyone was, the variety of activities and the overall presentation of the event! The free swim was awesome, thank you! The photo booth was fun and added bonus was an jpeg of the kids as my daughter s friend s mom was absent and so she was able to have the prints as well, so thanks Burlington, for the 2014! New Year s Day memories! Typically, the festival and events report is presented to Council twice per year (early fall and late winter) to provide a summary of the past year s festivals and events and to seek approval for the event applications received for the coming year. In the most recent festival and events report (PR-35-13), Council granted delegated authority to the Supervisor of Festivals & Events to approve all major re-occurring events (defined as 1000 plus attendees) that are presented the same as the previous year and received a successful post event evaluation. In the same report delegated authority was given to the Supervisor of Festivals & Events to approve all minor events, both new and re-occurring. Following approval of PR-35-13, Committee received a memo dated November 23, 2013 outlining a detailed action plan with timelines and accountability for event process improvements. On July 14, 2014, Council approved the road race framework and the continuation of the Chilly Half Marathon route in corporate services report CS While the report focused on the Chilly Half Marathon, the report also provided background context on

3 Page 3 of Report PR festival and event hosting in Burlington, road races, event hosting principles, impact considerations, and strategies to incorporate a customer first service approach. Discussion: 2014/2015 Event Season Review By the end of the 2014/2015 event season, the City of Burlington will have supported the hosting of 158 events for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to the community with attendance ranging from 4 to 220,000. In total, an estimated 768,500 people attended or participated in Burlington events during the event season. Award Highlights include: Three events in Burlington being awarded the Top 100 Festival Award by Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO): 1. Sound of Music Festival (SOM) Level of Distinction 2. Burlington s Canada Day Celebrations 3. Burlington s Children s Festival Two events were awarded FEO Achievement Awards: 1. Canada s Largest Ribfest - Best Greening of a Festival or Event 2. Sound of Music Festival - Best New Single Sponsorship In addition, the Sound of Music was awarded 5 international awards in 2014 by the International Festivals and Events Association, (IFEA) including: Gold for Best Sponsor Partner Gold for Best Sponsorship Program for Individual Sponsor Silver for Best Radio Promotion Silver for Best Social Media Site Silver for Best T-Shirt Design

4 Page 4 of Report PR New Events during 2014/2015 application period: Sport Culture Recreation/ Other MEC Burlington Century Ride Kim s Ride To Cross Out Cancer Jessie s Journey Walk GuruGobind Run for Charity The Josh Project Hometown Paramedic Ride Crossfit Attitude Run United Way Ball Hockey WC Movember Road Hockey Tournament TRi KiDS Kick Off Day Burlington Festival of Beer Stars Under the Stars Culture Days Itabashi Drummer s at BPAC Cirque at Village Square Sound of Music 35 th Anniversary Concert & Dinner Future Buildings Trade Show 50th Anniversary Epi-Pen Take Action Event AVAAZ March Parapan One Year Countdown Parks By-law amendment The Parks By-Law was amended to make all City of Burlington parks and recreation facilities smoke free, effective on April 1, 2014 with some exceptions. Generally speaking, festival and event organizers have embraced this by-law to prohibit smoking at city facilities. Parks & recreation staff provided and implemented signage for the Sound of Music Festival, Canada s Largest Ribfest, Burlington Festival of Beer, all direct delivered events and more. Education has included signage, banners, information in event program guides and business cards distributed to educate the community on the new by-law. Stage regulations 2014 was the first event season to enforce the legislated changes for temporary stages. New regulations required event organizers to acquire building and zoning permits for all stages, as well as having other additional protocols in place. These additional requirements were costly and challenging for some event organizers to meet. The City also owns a portable stage that can be rented by event organizers both inside and outside of the city boundaries. Last year, the City absorbed the building and zoning permit fees for the stage for stage renters in Burlington as an attempt to ease the transition for event organizers as the regulation was not identified as an additional fee with event organizers in Starting in April 2015, event organizers will be responsible to pay for all permit/license and inspection fees. Notification of this change was shared with all event organizers at the 2014 festival & event organizer group conference held on September 2, 2014 with a follow up in writing.

5 Page 5 of Report PR Vendor placement during major festivals Some local businesses continue to express concerns about competing business in Spencer Smith Park during major events and the placement of those competing vendors during festivals. Staff, event organizers and the Burlington Downtown Business Association have been working together to establish a framework to mitigate these concerns. Although this is still a work in progress with several competing interests being indentified, staff will have a plan in place for the event season of Drone technology for capacity monitoring In 2014 staff worked with event organizers to increase the capacity at Spencer Smith Park during Ribfest from 15,000 to 20,000 people. The Burlington Fire Department s drone technology was used to monitor the site each evening during high capacity times. Accessibility ramp at Spencer Smith Park The implementation of the new accessibility path at Spencer Smith Park has provided positive opportunities for park users. With this new feature in the park event organizers have had to adjust site plans to ensure that the pathway is barrier and obstacle free. Use of the Brant Street Pier Since the Brant Street Pier was built, the special events team (SET) has received a number of requests to host events on the pier. Requests range from fireworks at the end of the pier which is currently permitted, to licensing the pier to serve alcohol and hosting events in the winter months. The latter two requests have both been declined at the SET level due to both safety and environmental concerns. At this time, all event organizers are required to keep access to the pier open during events. One event organizer has been granted approval to park a limited number of cars on the pier with site plan approval. Staff is recommending that the Brant Street Pier remain open for public access during events. Cancelled or postponed events In 2014, 16 events were cancelled or postpone by event organizers. Many event organizers stated that they were re-evaluating event format, previously held a one-time only event, were seeking a change in location, and/or were unable to secure enough volunteer leadership to continue to host. Staff has offered assistance to event organizers if applicable.

6 Page 6 of Report PR Upcoming 2015 / 2016 Season By the festival & event application deadline, staff has received 127 applications. This includes applications for three new major events to the city. Additional minor event applications are expected throughout the year during subsequent minor intake periods. Appendix B provides a summary of all new both major and minor events as well as and/or enhanced major event applications for this season. New Events Sport Culture Recreation/ Other Pan Am/Parapan Torch Relays & Celebration Pan Am Soccer Practice Site Burlington Healthy Living Show Pan Am Day in Canada* *pending grant approval Pan Am and Parapan Events As southern Ontario prepares to host the largest multi sport games ever held in Canada, there are many opportunities to celebrate this event. Committee will be receiving a separate report with this agenda outlining the City s involvement in the Pan Am and Parapan Games. At a high level summary staff and SET are working on: Celebration site location for Pan Am and Parapan Am Torch relay Pan Am Day in Canada and Community events to support the Pan Am & Parapan Am Games Burlington Healthy Living Show In April 2014 the event organizer of the Burlington Spring and Fall Home Shows approached staff looking to expand their current show offerings to include a Healthy Living Show. The concept for the show would be to showcase companies and services that heighten the public's awareness of how to improve their healthy lifestyle, through physical activities, healthy eating, healthy home advancements or healthy environmental choices so that the community and its residents become healthier. The show would include celebrity speakers and exhibitors from health-minded businesses serving Burlington, Oakville, Milton & Hamilton. Haber Recreation Centre was identified as a desirable location by the event organizer.

7 Page 7 of Report PR Enhancements to current major events The special events team has reviewed all major and new events for the 2015/2016 season. When reviewing applications the SET refers to post event evaluations that look at requirement/licensing compliance, resident and visitor feedback received on the City s website, on-site inspection concerns and accounts payable. Sound of Music and Ribfest have applied to expand and enhance their respective events in SET and staff are still working with the event organizers to finalize their details and requirements for the January 8, 2015 SET meeting. All 2015 changes will be presented to Council in a planned follow up report expected in February. Below are the proposed changes to the events for Committee s initial awareness and comment. Sound of Music (June 13, 14, 18 21) Activity NEW/Change Previous Years SET/Staff concerns Parade Parade Route change Field Show One week earlier to coincide with the Kick Off Weekend On festival weekend No concerns Move to Sunday Saturday Churches along the route will be impacted New Street from Teen Tour Way (Central Arena) to Belvenia Road (Nelson field). Nelson Park following the parade Central Arena to Central High School along New Street and Brant NA Resident impacts due to length and duration, two major intersections affected Impact of sound to local residents Kick-off Concert Paid ticketed concert Free in the past Resident concerns about paying for the event now Additional Entertainment Pod At Maria on Brant NA Impact of sound to local residents and business.

8 Page 8 of Report PR Canada s Largest Ribfest (Sept. 3-7) 20th Anniversary Activity NEW/Change Previous Years SET/Staff concerns Throwback Thursday Firework Adding another day for the event so the event will run Thursday Monday 2 min-15 min display to close the night Event started on Friday NEW Additional impact on the park and potential concerns with previous weekend event organizer between tear down and set up. Needs to follow Fireworks display protocol Sail Pass Every afternoon Need clarification on what this entails. Impacts of Pan Am & Parapan Am on next seasons events Due to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has informed the City that it is highly unlikely they will be able to fulfill pay duty officer requests for events from Friday, July 3, 2015 to Friday, August 21, 2015, inclusive. Staff received correspondence from the HRPS dated October 8, 2014 included as Appendix C. Events impacted during this time period include: Downtown Dash (July 16, 2015) Burlington s Festival of Beer (July 17-19, 2015) Sandcastles Festival (August 8, 2015) Children s Festival (August 16, 2015) Staff has put in a request with the HRPS to suggest alternative options for the direct delivered events of Sandcastles Festival and the Children s Festival. Staff has informed the event organizers from the Downtown Dash and Burlington s Beerfest about the correspondence. The Downtown Dash organizing group has elected to move the event date to September. Burlington s Festival of Beer has indicated to staff that they are not interested in moving their event date at this time however, they would consider extra security personnel if required. The SET would recommend approving this event subject to HRPS pay duty officers availability or other suitable sources such as enhanced private security. If a suitable solution were found, staff and event organizers will consider the solution on an on-going basis to support event requirements.

9 Page 9 of Report PR Food truck review During the May 2015 April 2016 special event application process, two applications were received for food truck events. Upon further investigation, it was determined that both events were actually programs proposed to run on a weekly basis. Since the application is a weekly program, the applicant must follow the food truck permits and bylaws which are currently under review in the planning and building department. Parks By-Law ( ) exemptions In reviewing event applications, several events have asked for Parks By-Law ( ) exemptions which will require Council approval and are outlined in Appendix A. Staff are recommending approval of the exemptions listed in Appendix A. Reserved use of downtown paid parking spaces for events In 2013 and 2014, Halton Regional Police Service reserved and paid for approximately 30 parking spaces for use by their officers during the Sound of Music and Ribfest at a cost of between $500 and $800 per event. For 2015, HRPS have indicated that they will charge this back to the event organizers. Transitioning road events from minor to major For the past couple of years, Burlington has had a number of road events on the cusp of moving from a minor event to a major event in terms of participants running the race. As run participants increase, so does the number of spectators. Applications for the Robbie Burns Road Race, Good Friday Road Race, Moon in June and Terry Fox Run all quote between 900 and 1,000 participants. The SET recommends moving the above four events from the minor to major classification for 2015 with considerations given to spectators and the requirements of Police during these larger road races. This change has been communicated to the event organizers with cost implications of approximately $800.00/event. This cost includes installation and removal of advanced event signage two weeks prior to the closure. Staff will consider accessing the Community Development Fund if applicable, to support event organizers during the transition.

10 Page 10 of Report PR Proposed Process Improvements All applications received by the festival & event office are now reviewed and categorized by the following subject areas: recreation, culture, and on-road/sport. Each event application is reviewed and assigned to a Parks & Recreation staff contact (a relationship manager) based on category. This new focused approach is intended to build relationships, develop subject matter experts and support service owners with their business plans and objectives. Currently staff from parks & recreation (relationship managers) present each event application to SET for their public safety and regulatory review, and work with the event organizer through the event hosting process as well as the post event evaluation from the year prior, if applicable. Permits are only issued once all conditions have been met. For all annual events, a post event evaluation is completed in collaboration with SET and the event organizer. In addition staff from the sport unit, events unit and Tourism Burlington have developed a future state process for sport event hosting at Haber Recreation Centre and many of the suggested improvements for Haber will align with the broader festival and event business process that was launched in fall These processes were initiated to streamline event hosting in the City of Burlington with an emphasis on process efficiencies and customer service. The project team includes staff from roads and parks maintenance, transportation services, the general manager s office, clerks and parks and recreation. The process improvement plan will be shared with Community and Corporate Services Committee in the new year. Some quick wins have already been realized such as: Adding a portal for residents to provide feedback to staff on events on the City web page Analyzing and sharing comments from residents and incorporate them into the event review process Developing and implementing a post event evaluation template Communicating the portal for all event applications Working collaboratively with the Burlington Downtown Business Association

11 Page 11 of Report PR Financial Matters: Event organizers cover their operating expenses, inclusive or permits, equipments rentals, emergency services, etc. through admission fees, participant fees, grants, vendor fees and sponsorships. Traffic control plan notification for event road closures in the Burlington Post is currently a financial matter staff will address through the business process management project. The City of Burlington provides financial assistance to event organizers through the Community Development Fund as well as the Facility Fee Waiver Fund. In addition, the City provides $66,000 in an annual operating grant to the Sound of Music Festival (SOM). SOM have submitted a business case to further support their event, which will be considered through the 2015 budget process. Many event hosts are currently in the process of preparing and submitting grant applications to various funders for consideration for the next season. In addition, many are in discussions with potential sponsors and securing contracts. It is the success of securing grants and sponsorships that supports the magnitude, the quality and the diversity of the program line up for events, both direct delivered and externally delivered. Many event hosts try to maintain events that are free of charge for members of the public, which contributes to the success of year round festivals and events in Burlington. As a result of the report on road races and the Chilly Half Marathon (CS-8-14), additional fees will be implemented for road races. Fees are a result of increased customer service protocol for festivals, events & road races. Implementation of these additional requirements as noted in Appendix A of CS-8-14 would result in a one-time cost to manufacture signage of approximately $2, This one-time cost for signs will be funded through the current budget. Event organizers will be required to pay for roads and park maintenance staff to provide installation and removal service of these signs, estimated cost of $50 per sign. Recently, staff submitted an application to the Department of Canadian Heritage s Toronto 2015 Pan & Parapan American Games Community Celebrations Fund. If approved, this fund will provide support for three events in Burlington including Pan Am Day in Canada, and the Pan Am & Parapan Am Torch Relay Celebrations.

12 Page 12 of Report PR Environmental Matters: Environmental leadership is standard in the delivery of festivals and events in our community. Events organizers continue to show leadership through effective waste management and recycling programs, the use of green products, as well as other event management practices that help protect City parks, facilities and infrastructure. An industry leader in waste diversion is Burlington s own Canada s Largest Ribfest delivered by the Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore. In 2014, the Rotary Club aimed for a 95% waste diversion rate at the end of the event. The Rotary Club executed according to plan but unfortunately discovered that a few vendors had not followed the direction of their recycling team. As a result, the diversion rate dropped to 85% as all of the recycling pick ups had already taken place. In 2015, the Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore plans to remove garbage collection as an option for vendors therefore requiring vendors to be responsible to dispose of any non- recyclable material. This improvement by Rotary results in an expected diversion rate in excess of 95%. The City makes water bottle refilling stations and other waste management equipment available for rent to event organizers. In addition, BurlingtonGreen, a local non-profit environmental organization offers their waste sorting services to event hosts for a fee. Public Engagement Matters: Resident and Attendee Feedback I have 3 year old twin boys who adore super heroes. It couldn t have been a better theme for them. Everything was organized and ran smoothly. My girls loved it, and I loved that it was free. It was a good time. Very nice! Loved watching Frozen with my daughter and Grandkids it was a lot of fun we were in the golden ticket seats!!! Love it, going back tonight! It was so awesome!! The event was fantastic! Great selection of activities, space and organization. Annually, the festivals & events office hosts a conference for event organizers to share updates and changes for the upcoming event season as well as provide them with resources to improve their event with presentations from industry experts in a variety of fields including: social media and marketing, sponsorship and fundraising, and volunteer management. More than 70 event organizers attended the conference in 2014.

13 Page 13 of Report PR In 2014, the festivals & events office began to request ongoing feedback on events within the City of Burlington website. All those who attend events in the City of Burlington are encouraged to send their feedback through this interface. Additionally, with the recent launch of the community calendar, staff promoted the use of this free service with our festival and event organizer group to encourage external event submissions which fit the submission criteria. Increased calendar functionality allows for users to subscribe to calendars of their choice and receive automatic weekly updates at their convenience. To date, we have received more than 155 submissions from the community for the festivals and events calendar. Conclusion: Upon approval and discussion of this report, festival and event staff will follow up with event organizers and the community accordingly. Committee can expect two reports in the new year: 1. A follow up report outlining the detail event plan for Sound of Music and Ribfest, as well as Pan Am and Parapan Am events plus any other new submissions received by the special events team. 2. An information report on the future state process for event hosting in Burlington and the continuous improvement action plan. The City of Burlington prides itself as a vibrant community with a high quality of life. The safe delivery of community events is a key indicator of residents overall rating of their quality of life. To help festival and event organizers through this complicated approval process staff is eager to share future process improvements in the new year so that the residents can continue to enjoy this vibrant city. Respectfully submitted, Jessica Wesolowski, Supervisor of Festivals & Events ext. 7724

14 Page 14 of Report PR Appendices: Appendix A: Parks by-law exemptions for events Appendix B: 2015/2016 New/Enhanced Major Events Appendix C: Halton Regional Police Service letter October 8, 2014 Notifications: (after Council decision) Name: Festival and Events Organizers Group Members SET Members - internal Peter McMurrough Roman Nowickyj Ladislav Butkovic Jutta Jasper Kevin Maher Peter Kastoris Valentina Satsoura Brian Dean Mailing or Address: peter.mcmurrough@halton.ca roman.nowickyj@halton.ca ladislav.butkovic@haltonpolice.ca jutta.jasper@haltonpolice.ca kevin.maher@haltonpolice.ca peter.kastoris@halton.ca valentina.satsoura@halton.ca brian@downtownburlington.ca Approved by: Chris Glenn, Director of Parks & Recreation Scott Stewart, General Manager of Dev. And Infrastructure Pay Moyle, Interim City Manager Reviewed by: Nancy Shea Nicol, Director of Legal Services and City Solicitor Joan Ford, Director of Finance