A total of $470,850 of federal money is going to three Guelph organizations to boost tourism in the city.
The funding announcement on Friday was at the Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) at 83 Essex St. Remarks about the funding were shared by MP Lloyd Longfield on behalf of Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev).
“So I mean, three of us are really winning today in different ways,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie, at the announcement.
GBHS will receive $200,000 through FedDev to expand its exhibit offerings. It will be working with XR Studios again to create augmented reality exhibits at GBHS.
“Really, our goal is to really attract the young people. Last year we were so blessed to have … hundreds of students come in through the local school boards. And also, during the summer, we attracted tourists,” said GMHS president Denise Francis.
GBHS has attracted tourists from across Canada and from the U.S. who want to learn more about the Black history, said Francis. Although Guelph wasn’t a stop of the Underground Railroad there are people here who are descendants of those who came through the Underground Railroad, she continued.
“Denise and her team here continue to enhance and find ways to tell the history and the stories of the Black community so we’ll not forget and to learn from our history,” said Longfield, at the announcement.
There will be $175,000 going to the City of Guelph so it can construct a 1 km multi-use trail to connect the trail systems of the Trans Canada Trail and the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail (G2G). The trail would connect Woolwich Street to Woodlawn Road.
This trail connection is something the G2G Rail Trail group has been pushing for, as previously reported by GuelphToday.
The estimated project cost is $1.9 million and the construction is planned for next year pending city budget approval. A roughly one-and-a half to two-year construction timeline is estimated.
Guelph’s Hillside Festival will receive $95,850 so it can expand its festival offerings to include a new project called Indigenous Voices. The festival has been around for over 40 years, and its included Indigenous programming through its Indigenous Circle for roughly 30 years, said Kate Johnston, executive director of Hillside, in a question and answer period.
“It's really one of the longest standing sort of dedicated spaces for Indigenous programming at what you might consider to be a major music festival in the Canadian landscape,” said Johnston.
The funding will create a new position for an Indigenous curator for the festival to help select Indigenous artists and workshop hosts for the festival. Prior to this role being created the Indigenous Circle programming was planned by community volunteers, who are all Indigenous.
“So it's the Guelph stories, the results of the investments really show tangible results in our community,” said Longfield, in his remarks.
