The Foster Festival is extending this year’s performance season with a new Canadian production in St. Catharines with funding from FedDev Ontario and the Tourism Growth Program.
Time and Tide by Nova Scotian playwright Jody Stevens McCluskey will be the first non-Norm Foster play featured on the Foster Festival stage when it makes its world premier this fall.
"Receiving support from FedDev Ontario to expand our programming to include a fourth production in our 2024 season is a tremendous honor,” says Emily Oriold, the Foster Festival’s founder, and artistic director. “This funding is not just an investment in our world premiere production but is also a testament to the belief in nurturing new Canadian work and creativity.”
The Government of Canada’s Tourism Growth Program provides $108 million over 3 years to support communities, small- and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit organizations develop local tourism products and experiences. The Foster Festival received $40,000 from FedDev Ontario for its project and was among 11 tourism organizations from across Niagara, including two others in St. Catharines, to receive a share of $1.3 million in funding intended to help diversify offerings and attract new visitors to the region.
This year the Foster Festival initiated its new play development program and featured three works shortlisted from 72 submissions from across Canada at its first annual Fostered Playwrights Festival. The Foster Festival selected Time and Tide as the program’s first play to receive a full production, taking place at the Mandeville Theatre in St. Catharines October 4-13.
“We are profoundly grateful for this support, which helps us bring fresh, new stories to our Foster Festival stage and to our community in St. Catharines,” says Oriold. “By supporting work by playwrights from across Canada, we are able to reach audiences from both near and far and invite them to join us for exciting theatre in Our Home STC."
Other tourism organizations in St. Catharines receiving funding include:
- The City of St. Catharines: $30,000 to develop and implement a strategic plan with the Town of Lincoln for the newly created Destination Marketing Organization.
- 13th Street Winery: $120,000 to complete facility improvements and develop pedestrian pathways.
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) is delivering the Tourism Growth Program in Niagara and is currently accepting applications for its next round of funding. Applications will be accepted until 4:59 p.m. Tuesday, September 17, 2024.