Cash flow is part of the story, but it’s not the whole story. Yes, funding instability was one of the biggest factors in this decision, especially as an independent, non-profit festival that doesn’t have corporate sponsors or BIA support. But there’s also the reality of park construction on Geary this year, which adds major logistical and budget pressures. Together, these challenges meant that moving forward in September would have forced us to compromise on quality and safety, and those are things we’re not willing to sacrifice.

Short answer: yes. Since its inception in 2021, we’ve relied on program grants with no guarantee funding year over year, which means we’re subject to changes in jury decisions, grant officer recommendations, and available budgets.

In 2023, we faced a similar funding gap as we’re facing now. Many local businesses, artists, and community members shared how much the festival meant to them, so we chose to move forward rather than cancel or postpone. It became a true community effort; the street was alive, venues were full, and the neighbourhood was buzzing. We adapted by scaling down the program, not closing the street, and our core team worked for micro-honorariums so artists could still be paid.

Long answer: funding realities are something we navigate every year, and like many independent festivals, we make adjustments to match the resources available. The 2023 experience reinforced what’s essential for the Geary Art Crawl: a program that excites and inspires, a safe space for everyone with a street closure, and fair pay for the people who make it happen.

Those are the standards and values we hold ourselves to. This year, moving to March is how we protect them, so we can deliver the kind of festival our community deserves without compromising what matters most.

March offers a completely different canvas. It’s been a desire of ours to produce an event outside the summer season. We got a glimpse of it in 2023 with our Geary Winter Fest: packed venues, people enjoying indoor and outdoor programming all weekend, and a welcome boost for local businesses during a naturally slower time of year.

It’s a season when people are ready to shake off the winter, reconnect, and get out into the city. We love the idea of Geary becoming a destination for that, a kind of “defrosting festival” where the street comes back to life after months of hibernation. 

And yes, there’s also the practical side: March is the furthest we can push the event while still using the public funding we’ve already secured for this edition. It gives us time to reshape the festival and make the most of the resources we have.

Many street festivals have big corporate sponsors, a Business Improvement Area (BIA) backing them, or a parent company with a steady revenue stream. We don’t have any of that. The Geary Art Crawl is fully independent and produced by Uma Nota Culture, a non-profit organization, which means we build our budget from scratch every year through a combination of public grants, partnerships, and in-kind support.

This model lets us take creative risks, showcase a wide range of artistic work, and collaborate closely with our community. But it also makes us more vulnerable to funding gaps because we don’t have a built-in safety net when challenges come up. It’s an unpredictable way to operate, we depend on many external factors, like how much funding is allocated to public grants in a given year. And with grants, sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t, which makes long-term planning a lot harder.

We don’t see it that way. We see it as part of the natural growing pains of building something meaningful. Yes, it’s frustrating to have to shift gears. Yes, the state of the arts sector can be discouraging, especially when we hear about other beloved Toronto festivals that have had to cancel their 2025 editions. We ask ourselves “what’s the point?” sometimes too. But then we remember: change doesn’t happen by giving up. Call us naive, but we’d rather be the small grain of sand that helps build a mountain of resistance and resilience in our community.

Some local businesses along Geary Avenue will be hosting their own special programming on September 20. We encourage you to stop by, enjoy what they have planned, and support the local businesses and artists who work here year-round. Follow us, share the word, and join us again in March ready to celebrate. The Geary Art Crawl is more than a weekend, it’s a reflection of the people who make this neighbourhood vibrant.