Organizer Information

Joining Ontario Culture Days boosts your event’s visibility, fosters community connections, and showcases your work within a recognized provincial and national celebration of arts and culture. It also strengthens the cultural sector, advocates for local arts and culture investment, and contributes to the broader cultural landscape of Ontario.

When you register an event, it will be featured in online events listings, and may receive additional exposure through social media and e-news promotions. Furthermore, organizers benefit from access to promotional materials such as event swag and tools such as marketing templates to enhance their grassroots marketing efforts. Note: We ask that organizers register events by July 31 to be eligible for swag.

We encourage everybody in the province to participate. In the past, our event organizers have included not-for-profit organizations, major arts organizations, independent artists and collectives, performing arts groups, libraries, municipalities, and more!

Events must take place during Ontario Culture Days, which in 2025 will run from September 19 to October 12. Organizers are required to host at least one event to be included in the Ontario Culture Days celebration. There is no need to schedule events every day or for the entire festival duration.

You must:

• Host an arts and culture program in Ontario within the festival dates
• Support low barriers to access through free or pay-what-you-may admission
• Programs should have a participatory element, inviting the public into the creative process
• Event must be registered through the online portal (registration is usually launched in mid-spring)

The festival presents a unique opportunity for independent organizers to come together to showcase local talent, foster community collaboration, and bring the public into the creative process.

With a multidisciplinary focus, the festival includes a wide range of disciplines such as visual arts, dance, theatre, music, history and heritage, architecture and design, culinary arts, craft, and storytelling. Events are offered in various formats, including in-person, online (live or pre-recorded), and self-guided experiences, allowing for broad participation and accessibility.

Start by giving yourself plenty of time to organize, promote, and fine-tune your event logistics. Check out our Organizer Resources for tips, tricks, and more. Connect with a local Festival Hub to collaborate, share resources, and gain additional exposure. Visit Ontario Culture Days’ Festival Hubs and the national Culture Days site to see if there is a Festival Hub in your region.

Take advantage of Ontario Culture Days’’promotional materials to help spread the word and attract audiences. Tag us on social media (@onculturedays) and use the festival hashtags #ONCultureDays and #CultureDays to increase visibility. Looking to reach a wider audience? Check out our media outreach tips for engaging local press.

Ensure your event is welcoming to all by incorporating accessibility considerations into your planning. Finally, celebrate your event’s impact by submitting a nomination for the Spotlight Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions to the festival—your community can also nominate your event!

Organizers are expected to follow the latest provincial health guidelines and any specific local regulations to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools and their families, endeavours to acknowledge and better understand the history and harms done and, as individuals and members of our communities, engage in actions that advance Truth and Reconciliation.

Accordingly, Ontario Culture Days has set September 30, 2025 aside to create space exclusively for events organized to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, including those sharing First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit experiences and perspectives celebrating the creative and cultural expressions of Indigenous people and communities.

In order to ensure that Indigenous voices and participation are central to any event planned for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, there will be additional questions for organizers to answer during the registration process. Find more information here.

To register your event, create an account on culturedays.ca. Once your account is confirmed, you’ll have access to a dashboard with registration forms with step-by-step instructions. This will allow you to submit your event for approval.

Approval times may vary, but events are typically reviewed within a few business days after submission. For any questions about approval, please contact info@onculturedays.ca.

Your event could be declined for not meeting certain criteria, such as event type, event eligibility, or missing required details. For more information, review “What is the criteria for inclusion?” above.

Ontario Culture Days does not offer direct funding opportunities. We recommend that organizations seek funding through grants, sponsorships, or other sources such as local cultural funding programs or partnerships with community organizations.

If you’re an artist looking to get hired for an Ontario Culture Days event, here are some suggestions to get involved:

• Reach out to organizations in your community, (such as galleries, museums, and other arts organizations), and inquire if they are looking for artists, or would like to partner with you or host you as an Ontario Culture Days event.
• Check for any open calls for artists or performers that might be posted on local arts or cultural event websites.

We expect that all independent organizers will be appropriately compensating the artists and creators that they hire. Artist fees support fair participation in the sector by all creators, and allows artists to continue doing what they do best – making art. Read our guide to artist fees here.

For more resources and guidelines relating to industry standards on artist fees, including when to pay artist fees, how much should you pay, and how should you calculate an artist’s time, we recommend reviewing the following sources:

• CARFAC minimum fee schedule
• Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA) Professional Standards

To help cover the cost of artist fees, organizers can opt to make their events Pay-What-You-May.

In 2019, we updated our free admission policy to include a “Pay-What–You-May” (PWYM) option for entry to Ontario Culture Days events. While all registered events are still mandated to have free entry, organizers can now publicly list that they accept optional PWYM donations for admission, and this is included in your event listing.

It can be a challenge to receive donations at events. Thankfully, there are ways to support payments online. Here are a few options:

• Zeffy: This free fundraising platform for nonprofits has no transaction fees or platform fees. This means organizers can keep 100% of the donations received.
• Stripe: This platform offers customizable donation pages and payment links that allow donors to enter their chosen amount. For eligible nonprofits, Stripe provides discounted fees of 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction, lower than their standard rates.
• E-transfer: Sometimes simple can be best! Some artists prefer receiving donations directly via e-transfer. To facilitate this, consider setting up a dedicated email address for e-transfers.

The Spotlight Awards recognize outstanding contributions during Ontario Culture Days. Individuals, organizations, or events can be nominated based on their impact and creativity. A panel of judges reviews the nominations and selects winners in various categories, such as Best Collaborative or People’s Choice. The People’s Choice Award winners are selected by the audience. Winners are celebrated during Ontario Culture Days with recognition in public communications or special events.

Established in 2022, Provincial Festival Hubs are central to the Ontario Culture Days festival, serving as focal points for event activity throughout the province. These hubs are made possible through collaborative partnerships between Ontario Culture Days and local lead and supporting partners.

Provincial Festival Hubs are the face of the festival, and help us tell the story of communities across Ontario. They play a key role in communications, marketing, and artistic programming, while also boosting local and regional tourism by highlighting all registered events within their area.

Provincial Festival Hubs are made possible through collaborative partnerships between ONCD and local lead and supporting partners.

In contrast, Hubs listed on the national Culture Days website are self-managed by event organizers. Hub pages display a group of Culture Days events that are related, either by location or theme, on a single page. A minimum of 3 events are required to register a Hub.

ONCD partners with local organizations across the province to make Provincial Festival Hubs possible. These lead partners are often arts councils, municipal culture departments, and major arts organizations. They serve as a local contact for their hub, connecting with interested groups to expand and strengthen the Hub in their region. 

Does this sound like you? Check our feeds, or sign up for our e-newsletters, to hear about calls for expressions of interest, which are typically released 14 months before the annual festival. Or get in touch with us at outreach@onculturedays.ca to learn more.

To connect with a Provincial Festival Hub, start by checking the list at onculturedays.ca/festival-hubs and reaching out through the provided contact information on each hub’s page. Many Hubs also host info sessions for potential organizers – visit each Hub’s website for more details

To create a hub, go to your Dashboard, click on “Hubs,” then “create a hub,” and follow the prompts. Once your hub is set up, you can invite other events to join!

Use the contact information listed on each Hub’s page to request that your event be added.

Register your programs by our provincial marketing deadline in the summer to receive promotional swag and event features. Your listing can be updated at any time.

We want to celebrate the events you put on during this year’s festival. If you have any photos or videos you would like to share, please send them to us (along with event titles, photo credits and your contact info) using WeTransfer to: info@onculturedays.ca

Promotional postcards and pins are available to organizers who register before our marketing deadline of July 31. Registered organizers will receive an email when the order form is online.

You’re encouraged to use our marketing materials to promote your event as part of the festival. Marketing assets, including logos, social media graphics, and templates, are available here. Guidelines and best practices are available alongside the assets. Check back often for new templates!

While we provide ready-to-use templates and materials, custom marketing pieces are the responsibility of the event organizer.