We can barely wait to announce our artist lineup next month for the 2020 BUMP Festival presented by TD, bringing magic to the streets of Calgary once again for the fourth year this August 26-29.

This past week, the Calgary Herald published an article titled “Festivals caught unaware by sudden cancellation of provincial grant”, which shed light on the loss of the Alberta Government’s Community Initiatives Program (CIP) cutting funding for hundreds of community programs across the province, including potential funding for the Beltline Urban Murals Project (BUMP). 

We have heard a great deal of outcry from the community in response to the loss of funding so we would like to clarify that while this funding would have provided a huge support for BUMP towards our vision of strengthening the local community, supporting small businesses and boosting Calgary’s tourism we will be continuing forward with the 2020 BUMP Festival in spite of this setback.

Unfortunately, not every organization that this program supported was in the same position. The indefinite cancellation of funding to over 130 community initiatives in Calgary by the Provincial Government is terribly disappointing given the immense contribution these organizations make to our local economy and the quality of life in this city. Many of these organizations, like BUMP, rely on a significant amount of volunteer effort and we know that investments in these groups yield a return that is manyfold.

While we are disappointed the CIP grant was abruptly halted, we are excited to be working with our partners to still bring the largest and most exciting BUMP artist lineup to Calgary to date, with unique programming to adapt to our new and crazy world. Stay tuned for more!