Hall Submissions

The Ontario Festival of Small Halls is seeking out new halls to add to its circuit. Is your volunteer-led organization interested in participating in this year’s event? We want to hear from you.

Before you submit your expression of interest (by following the link below), please make sure to read the following criteria. Participating venues should have:

  • A seated capacity of 150 or more.
  • A stage or a performance area with an unobstructed view.
  • Wheelchair accessibility and be equipped to accommodate patrons attending who may require special assistance.
  • An off-stage dressing room for artists’ use before, during, and after the show.
  • A minimum of 2 separate 15 amp circuits of electricity within 50 ft of the stage.
  • Adequate parking appropriate to venue size.
  • Sufficient & operational fire extinguishers and clearly marked Fire Exits.

The hall host (that’s you, the applicant, or else another designated representative) must:

  • Have a cohesive volunteer team willing to rally behind this event to ensure its success.
  • Designate someone in your community to take the lead on marketing the event, including the distribution of posters and brochures and identifying/executing other effective measures to promote the show.
  • Designate a contact person who the festival will liaise with by phone and email, and work cooperatively with festival staff to ensure the smooth running of the event.
  • Take responsibility for all normal costs of the venue (i.e. electricity, heat, maintenance/cleaning). In exchange, the Host Organization will receive a percentage of proceeds from ticket sales.
  • Provide performers and crew with a hearty meal up to 1.5 hours before the doors open.
  • Provide volunteers to open the hall at the appropriate time for technical crews and set up for the show.
  • Provide volunteers for ushering, parking, sign planting and other jobs deemed appropriate during the event
  • Provide proof of insurance for the venue being used.
  • Provide a copy of your hall emergency plan

If your Hall and Host Organization meet the following requirements, please fill out the Submission Form by following this link: Hall Submissions. (Please note, that filling out the Hall Submission form is an expression of interest and does not guarantee participation in the event. Halls that meet the above listed criteria will be notified. Due to the high volume of submissions, not all applicants will be notified if their submission is not accepted).

Items to email into Small Halls once you’ve submitted your application:

  • Proof of venue insurance
  • A high quality JPEG  photo of the exterior of the hall/venue for our website
  • A normal quality photo of the interior of the hall, including the stage area and dressing room

ABOUT US:

The Ontario Festival of Small Halls is put on by the Team Behind Ottawa Bluesfest, a dedicated group that has spent decades organizing high-quality concerts. 2022 marks the 9th year of Small Halls and in that time, the festival has put on over 200 concerts and events in 40+ rural communities across Eastern Ontario. With the help of community associations, we seek to bring unique and interesting activities to small, cherished places, in the spirit of celebrating community, musical discovery and rural hospitality.

THE FESTIVAL WILL PROVIDE:

We provide the performers: artists or bands we have chosen for their musical talent and captivating stage presence. Leading up to the event, we will do our share of marketing and online ticket sales. For the event, we will bring our professional sound equipment, technician, stage manager and MC to ensure the highest quality of concert. We will also provide marketing assistance leading up to the event (we provide poster files for you to print, as well as social media graphics), and arrive on the day-of-show with a backdrop & signs to welcome people to the event.

TIMING:

Small Halls concerts will take place in the Fall season of 2023. Typically shows are on weekend evenings from 7:30PM – 9:30PM, and on Sunday afternoons from 3:00PM – 5:00PM. Doors open half an hour prior to the concert start time, which leaves lots of time before the concert starts for extra activities. For the event to succeed, there should be no conflicting events happening in town on the day of the show. We are hoping that the festival will be the event of the day, where locals are sure to run into everyone they know, and visitors are sure to be impressed with the vibrancy of your community. If you do have a pre-scheduled event within this time frame, please let us know in advance and we will do our best to select a different day.