This year’s outdoor kite and chalk festivals are suspended following the cancellation of the Victoria International Buskers Festival last month.
The respective boards of the Victoria International Kite Festival and the Victoria International Chalk Art Festival announced the suspension in a joint statement on Thursday. The statement said John Vickers, who founded all three festivals, has requested a break following recent “challenges” he has faced in the community.
Vickers said in an interview that battles over his buskers festival left him feeling “pretty exhausted.” He said it’s possible the kite and chalk festivals will be revived in 2018.
Last month, Vickers announced the Victoria International Buskers Festival would be cancelled in 2017 in the face of funding cuts and new competition.
Downtown organizations had cut funding to the buskers festival by 25 per cent. As well, the Downtown Victoria Business Association and its partners announced they would jointly stage a rival Downtown Buskers Festival in 2017.
Tourism Victoria had declared its intention to end financial support of Vickers’ buskers festival, throwing its support behind the new Downtown Buskers Festival instead. Paul Nursey, CEO of Tourism Victoria, has stated there is a “deep and irreparable schism” between Vickers and his organization and other sponsors of the new buskers festival.
Vickers said losing his six-year-old Victoria International Buskers Festival took a toll.
“These festivals are like a family of kids I’ve raised over the past seven years. To see the oldest [the buskers festival] take a hit downtown was very difficult,” he said.
“It’s left me feeling as though I need to step back and let time heal.”
The fourth Victoria International Kite Festival was to have taken place at Clover Point in May, while the sixth Victoria International Chalk Art Festival was slated for September on the downtown waterfront.
Vickers said he still plans to mount his annual Halloween pumpkin art display in Oak Bay.
