Hillcrest Village BIA will no longer sponsor Salsa on St. Clair

The Hillcrest Village Business Improvement Association (BIA) has decided to end its sponsorship of the annual Salsa on St. Clair festival, a decision announced after this year's event was marred by gun violence. The BIA board voted last week to discontinue its support, citing that the festival has "outgrown both the neighbourhood and the capacity of our BIA."

In a letter to festival organizers, BIA chair Heather Hannah expressed pride in sponsoring the event for many years but indicated a shift in the association's position. The festival's future sponsorship and location remain uncertain, though organizers TLN Media Group stated their primary concern is participant safety and that the Mayor's Office has committed to working with them on security measures.

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we have been proud to sponsor and host this event for many years. However the board believes the festival has outgrown both the neighbourhood and the capacity of our BIA

The decision comes in the wake of a fatal shooting on July 11, when two targeted men were killed and several others injured during the festival's peak hours on St. Clair Avenue West. The violence led to the cancellation of the festival's second day. Hannah, who witnessed the event, described the shooting as "terrifying" and noted the negative international publicity it generated for Toronto.

According to the BIA, support for the festival had been waning even before the shooting. Surveys conducted among BIA members in recent years indicated a significant decline in enthusiasm for the event, a sentiment reportedly shared by many local residents. The BIA's letter did not explicitly mention the recent violence as a reason for withdrawal, focusing instead on the perceived growth of the festival beyond the neighborhood's scope and the association's capabilities.

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this is going to look bad for Toronto, because it’s in all of the international papers as well. It’s not how we really wanted publicity for [a] nice little neighbourhood.