Large Scale Tourism Events funding applications will be considered once per year. The deadline for submission of funding applications is February 1 of each year. Applications are accepted for festivals and sporting events that have a tourism draw of 100 kilometres or greater, resulting in at least 35% of attendance by visitors to our community. A Large-Scale Tourism Event would provide a unique audience and/or participant experience and can result in a significant economic and/or tourism benefit to Grande Prairie. Large Scale Tourism Events are generally a ticketed, multi-day event with an attendance of greater than 2000 people per day.

The purpose of this funding is to:

  • Attract people to our city
  • Encourage an exciting and vibrant range of events in our community
  • Grow tourism to Grande Prairie
  • Grow volunteerism within the city
  • Help promote a diverse culture, celebration of our heritage, and/or promotion of sport
  • Provide a safe community

Criteria and Guidelines:

The Event

  • Must be a large-scale event with a unique audience or participant experience, applications may include festivals or sporting events
  • Is expected to have a tourism draw of at least 35% of attendees from a proximity of 100 km or greater from Grande Prairie
  • Is generally a ticketed, multi-day event with an expected or actual attendance of greater than 2000 people per day
  • Takes place in the City of Grande Prairie, or the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 at Evergreen Park, or Crosslink County Sportsplex
  • Must proceed regardless of weather conditions – event will be held “rain or shine” with a contingency plan
  • Aligns with Council’s Strategic Priorities, and complies with all relevant Bylaws, Policies, Procedures, and Legislation
  • Is ineligible for funding if the event is supported financially from Arts Development Festival Funding or Pursuit of Excellence Funding

The Applicant

  • Has demonstrated and provided a plan to minimize the impact on the environment
  • Has provided proof of the quality and sustainability of the event. This can be done through the submission of a business plan and budget.
  • Has provided a marketing plan which includes how the event is promoted locally and outside of the region. Wherever possible, recipients are required to acknowledge funding received from the Large-Scale Tourism Events Fund, the City of Grande Prairie in related advertising or promotional materials
  • Has provided a social impact plan for the event
  • May also be eligible for gift-in-kind from the City and, where such contributions are made, they will be quantified and recorded separately and may be considered in determining the amount of cash contribution that the applicant will be eligible for under Policy 317
  • Must provide whether funding is used to leverage expected Provincial and Federal Funding, including Alberta Tourism
  • Must be a “non-profit organization”, as defined in Section 241(f) of the Municipal Government Act
  • Has provided supporting documents and reports, that successfully supports the ability of the applicant to complete the proposed project successfully

The Application

  • Demonstrates a requirement for annual funding
  • Indicates a financial need
  • Establishes reasonableness of the budget
  • Demonstrates evidence of significant positive expected economic benefit to the community, including statistics or measures on the potential tourism draw, such as a Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM) report for sporting events, or a similar economic impact assessment model for other events.

Other Evaluation Criteria:

  • No single grant will exceed 50% of the annual Large Scale Tourism Events budget.
  • Preference of funding will be for new (less than 5 years old), or expanded events.
  • For expanded events, the budget should be specific to the enhancement proposed for funding.

How to apply:

Click here to download the Large Scale Tourism and Events Funding Application

Please ensure that you download the PDF file.  Chrome's built in viewer will not allow you to submit the filled document. 

Information provided by the City of Grande Prairie

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