Burlington Sound of Music Festival organizers are calling on local community leaders to increase sponsorships, in order to reduce the event’s reliance on government funding.

Festival board of directors chair Dave Shepherd said the event, which bills itself as “Canada’s largest free outdoor music festival,” does not collect enough revenue to offset costs of putting on the festival.

“It’s a combination of lower corporate sponsors, lower food and beverage sales … add in the rising costs of insurance, electrical, permits and fees, engineering, security — it adds up pretty quickly,” Shepherd stated in an email.

Festival organizers issued a press release Monday stating a federal grant, which traditionally provided the local event with $200,000 a year, could be reduced and the province’s $125

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