Vendors will need to pay a higher price to participate in Bradford’s Carrot Fest, especially if they come from out of town.
Based on a report from recreation supervisor N’Diia Maharaj, council approved increasing the vendor fees for events like Carrot Fest to bring in more revenue and prioritize local businesses, during the regular council meeting on Dec. 17.
Starting in 2025, the fees for Carrot Fest are planned to be as follows:
- Friday local — $50
- Friday non-local — $75
- Saturday local — $90
- Saturday non-local — $250
That’s an even steeper first-year increase than recommended by staff, thanks to a push from Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine.
“I’m definitely in favour of the increase in fees, because they’re far too low as they are,” he said.
That was also supported by Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper.
“A drastic increase for non-local should be instituted right away,” he said. “I’m in support of supporting Bradford first.”
In response to council discussions on the town’s 2025 operating budget, Maharaj recommended increasing the rental rates for booths at Carrot Fest incrementally over five years, starting at $50 to $125 in 2025 and growing to $150 to $225 by 2029.
According to the report, staff found many towns charge about $225 per day for a three-metre-by-three-metre booth at their major events, while in 2024 Bradford only charged between $30 to $85 depending on the day and whether or not the vendor was local.
While she supported the staff recommendation, as “a wise approach” and “perfect transition,” Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney was concerned going above and beyond that would be too much too fast.
“We don’t want to be too aggressive,” she said. “Already, people are struggling financially.”
Recreation and cultural services director Terry Foran confirmed the town doesn’t want to “shock” anybody, but reiterated $225 is being charged by most towns with comparable events, such as Alliston’s Potato Fest, Orillia’s Sunshine Fest and Midland’s Butter Tart Festival.
Duhaney suggested the entertainment value at those events is better than what can be found at Carrot Fest, and recommended that if the price is going to increase, the town will need to up their game.
Foran said he doesn’t disagree, and hopes to use the additional $12,000 in anticipated revenue to offset the roughly $43,000 the event lost in sponsorship last year.
To help ensure local businesses get priority in booking those Carrot Fest rentals, council approved a new booking schedule, providing two-week windows in January and February for each of the following three business types: store-front, local and non-local.
That was bumped up from just one week each at the recommendation of Mayor James Leduc, and following those periods, applications are still to be accepted in chronological order until June 1. To maintain diversity, the events team plans to continue limiting the amount of same business types to three or four, according to the report.
Council also approved Maharaj’s recommendation to increase rates for food vendors at other town events including Music in the Park/Outdoor Movies, Pumpkin Fest and Canada Day celebrations, for which the vendors are almost exclusively local according to Foran.
In 2024, the town charged $10, $20 and $30 per day respectively for vendors to rent a booth at those events, and for 2025, those fees are proposed to start at $10, $25 and $75, growing to $30, $125 and $150 by 2029.
As the town’s Celebration Square beside the library is expected to be complete next year with a maximum capacity of about 2,000 people, council also approved recommended rental rates for that space of either $750 or $1,250 for community/non-profit groups using either eight hours or 12 hours, and $1,500 or $2,250 for private/commercial groups.
Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano, who has previously pushed for the creation of the square, said he was happy to see the cost associated with closing the “beautiful space” to the public, to protect the benefit to the community, and he’s also hoping to see more “premium acts” at the venue.
