What will city festivals and events look like next year and will COVID-19 still restrict what can take place?
This is the question Richmond city council will discuss at Monday’s general purposes committee.
With many events scaled down and put on virtually or with strict physical distancing measures for two years running, city council will debate how much money to budget for events in 2022 and what might look different.
One festival that doesn’t look like it’s coming back it the World Festival, whose budget was about $600,000, of which $400,000 came from the city’s budget.
Instead, city council has discussed having a more community-oriented multicultural festival.
To explore this idea, city staff are proposing council approve a budget of $40,000 to undergo a “visioning and consultation process” to plan a “’Made in Richmond’ celebration of cultural harmony.”
The total city events budget for 2022 is proposed at $700,000 and also includes the Children’s Arts Festival, the Richmond Cherry Blossom Festival, Doors Open, Steveston Salmon Festival, Richmond Maritime Festival as well as farmers markets.
After the committee meeting, at 7 p.m., city council will hold a public hearing on two items, an extension of a temporary permit for a private school to continue operating this year in an industrial/retail area as well as the subdivision of a house at Patterson Road and Sea Island Way.
On Tuesday, city council’s Public Works and Transportation committee meets to discuss a number of items including ride-hailing – with a presentation from ride-hailing KABU’s executives – public engagement on cycling networks, mattress removal and pesticide reduction and invasive species management.
All meetings are streamed online via YouTube. Comments at public hearings can be made by telephone.
