Riverfest Elora calls it quits after 15 years

An independent music festival in Elora is calling it quits after 15 years. CTV’s Colton Wiens explains why.

A beloved community festival is ending its 15-year run.

Organizers announced Tuesday that Riverfest Elora was shutting down for good as they couldn’t continue “throwing away” money on an “unsustainable model.”

“Everything was so intertwined, the town, people, us. It just became such a tight-knit group. It’s pretty hard to walk away,” said owner Jon Ralston. “It had been impossible because I love doing it so much.”

The independent festival is run by Ralston, Jason Ashdown and Shawn Watters, who is also mayor for the Township of Centre Wellington. Over the last decade, they have worked to mitigate rising operations expenses but ran into a roadblock after the pandemic when costs increased about 65 per cent. Ralston said they just couldn’t keep up.

“[The festival] accumulated close to $1.5 million in losses over the last three years alone, and there really doesn’t seem to be any sign that they would turn around,” he told CTV News. “That’s industry wide. I don’t think it’s unique to us.”

Prior to the pandemic, Ralston admitted Riverfest also struggled to make monetary gains.

“It became very clear to us that we were throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars into this thing every year. And there’s just no sign [of improvement]. We look at best case scenario with all kinds of hopes and dreams about how we can increase revenue. But the reality is that it’s based on nothing.”

Riverfest started in 2009 as a backyard fundraiser for the Elora Centre for the Arts. Founder Marilyn Koop meant for it to be a one-time event.

“The first one was very tiny, very intimate,” recalled Tony McManus, an Elora resident and travelling musician. “It was in the car park of the Elora Arts Centre.”

Koop passed in 2012, but the festival continued on. It evolved into a three-day event featuring artists such as City and Colour, Born Ruffians, Blue Rodeo, Arkells, Metric, The Sheepdogs, Walk Off the Earth, Mother Mother, Sloan, The Flaming Lips, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alessia Cara, The Glorious Sons, Feist and Treble Charger.

Last year, 15,000 people turned out for Riverfest.

While some residents have opposed tourism initiatives, the festival never posed a problem.

“I hear a lot of resentment over some things that are happening in the town, but Riverfest wasn’t one of them,” McManus explained. “That festival brought such a great energy to the town. Elora, I’ve lived there 20-odd years, and its always kind of punched above its weight. It’s a small town with a very, very active arts community.”

“I think [losing the festival will] really affect the community,” said Elora resident Lindsay Douglas. “I think it’s something that people look forward to and a lot of locals attend.”

Arlo Quilley echoed those sentiments.

“A tragedy for sure, to lose such a great festival,” he told CTV News. “I know that there were mixed opinions about the festival and sort of the way it started versus what it ended up being. But I know it will be sorely missed.”

The Elora Business Improvement District was saddened by the announcement but promised Riverfest would always be a part of the community’s story.

“Riverfest also brought important revenue to our small businesses through tourism, hospitality and seasonal work. The loss of the festival will have a large financial impact to our local businesses,” the BIA said in a statement to CTV News.

Ralston and the festival team now have to figure out what’s next, but wanted to recognize the volunteers, artists and wider community for their support over 15 “extraordinary years.”

“It never would have got to the point it got to without that,” he said. “We’re just incredibly thankful.”

Riverfest may be ending, but events like Monster Mash will still go ahead at Halloween without the Riverfest name.

Staff will contact anyone who purchased Early Bird tickets for Riverfest 2026 to arrange a refund in the coming weeks.