Evergreen Festival: Info for Businesses

The primary opportunity for small businesses without existing premises is to apply for a space in one of the temporary chalets within the Evergreen Market.

However, another excellent opportunity is to partner with a business that has premises to deliver a pop-up experience. Imagine a craft pop-up at a hotel or a local beauty business at a spa. There are many opportunities to work together to create some magic.

If you are a business interested in participating but are unsure of where to start, reach out to us and we can help match you with potential partners!

The Festival will strategically leverage the Downtown core as the draw, however, the idea is to entice people here and then sell them on experiencing everything (and every place!) the holiday season has to offer in the Halifax Region.

All areas of Halifax can and should participate. We recommend creating an event that can be featured within the upcoming website events calendar. For food & beverage establishments, we recommend registering for the Soups & Sips program. Or, if you have another idea for getting involved, let us know!

Yes, absolutely! All businesses are encouraged to decorate and put up lights! Please email jenna.rideout@developns.ca with the subject line “Evergreen Activation” if you have any questions.

Curated by Jazz East Rising Association, the Evergreen Stage will be a showcase of live and streamed multidisciplinary programming during the Evergreen Festival. For more information contact programming@halifaxjazzfestival.ca

Festival runs rain or shine, but events or activations affected by the weather will be rescheduled or cancelled on a case-by-case basis. We will use the Festival website and/or social media channels to communicate changes with the public.

Unlike many festivals which are confined to a specific space, Evergreen Festival is intentionally dispersed throughout Downtown Halifax in order to keep crowds to a minimum and make it easier to maintain social distancing while experiencing the event. The Festival will also occur over the course of four weeks, helping to further reduce the concentration of gathering.

In addition, there are precautions being observed throughout the various aspects of the festival including, but not limited to:
– Individual Businesses will continue to follow the Province’s existing health & safety guidelines
– At the Market, there will be physical distancing markers and appropriate space between kiosks to prevent crowding in lines
– At the Stage, there will be pods suitable for groups of up to ten and monitored to disperse crowds

Only the market will follow specific open and closed hours. While the light installations will be most active in the evening and act as a strong draw, there are no restrictions as to when a business may activate its own programming.

We will be featuring participating businesses and events from outside the Downtown core on our website. We’d also encourage businesses to engage with the @evergreenfestns accounts on social media. As much as possible, we will be reposting, retweeting, and resharing information about participating businesses. Our marketing plan is still in development so stay tuned for more details!

The vision for the Festival was to be as inclusive as possible and to celebrate as many cultures and beliefs as possible. We encourage any interested local group or event to reach out to discuss how we can get you involved.

There will always be room on the event calendar to feature any local events throughout the downtown core and beyond.

Wherever we can, we will try to help bring parties together to find collaborations and shared spaces to activate. There is no shortage of ways to be involved.

The main marketing priorities for the Festival are to build public awareness of the event and to support local businesses – which includes integrating our amazing local media within the plan. Our marketing plan is still in development so stay tuned for more details!

The Festival will not be licensing the Festival Stage area itself, it will be embracing the businesses surrounding the Festival Stage area and their operations.

The Festival Stage program of performances will be streamed for free to anyone who wishes to watch it. This means the performances can be enjoyed at home or broadcast live at your businesses. This gives you an opportunity to bring the entertainment to your space and even turn it into an elevated experience for your customer that can then be listed in the Festival’s event calendar. Dinner for two & a warm seat for watching the stage performance, perhaps?

No. We will be promoting the event largely to encourage outdoor exploration of the experiences, but restaurants are welcome to offer their special for dine-in consumption. When you register, you will be asked to indicate if your offer is available for dine-in, take-out, and/or patio consumption. You can choose as many as apply.

No, alcoholic beverages can only be consumed on-site and are not permitted to be transported off-site during the festival.

This is dictated by the city’s by-laws. If you are in an area zoned for permanent patios, your patios can stay open. If you are in an area zoned for temporary patios, you will have to follow the guidelines set by the Municipality.

The offer must be redeemable for the entire duration of the festival (without black-out dates): November 26 – December 19, 2021.

You are permitted to submit more than one offer! You can include as many offers as you like in your online registration.

Absolutely, you are permitted to submit more than one offer, and each offer can be for a different category.

Your offer does not have to be unique to the festival, but must fit with the spirit of the festival and be available for the full four weeks.

We recommend using whatever you currently use for your to-go business. If you do not currently have to-go packaging and wish to participate, we recommend to-go coffee cups for both soups and hot drinks. Environmentally friendly packaging is highly recommended.

No, as per current COVID restrictions, customers cannot use their own mugs.

No, your package does not need to be unique to the Festival, however, we encourage you to embrace the spirit of the Evergreen Festival when creating your package.

It will be listed within a “Getaway” section on the Evergreen Festival website.

You can offer a special rate if you prefer. However, there will be more marketing support dedicated to promoting packages that align with the spirit of the Festival.

We encourage businesses to work together to find unique connections and build special experiences. Of course, if you are having challenges, please reach out and we can help facilitate connections.

A great place to start is to begin thinking outside your own walls and even your own industry. If you’re trying to create a hotel package, know that a dining component is not a requirement – maybe instead you explore a tasting, a walking tour, or other different types of experiences.

Any activity, journey, adventure, experience, or thing to do can help create a package.

Perhaps instead of dinner and a stay, you can pair the stay with:
– A half-day activities package
– TWO other components rather than one (dinner, spa, stay)
– A culinary walking tour
– A crafting activity and special hot chocolate
– A musical performance and meal

The possibilities are endless!

On Saturdays and Sundays, the Festival will have programming during the day, giving you an opportunity to join in the festivities during your operating hours. Alternatively, you can offer extended hours throughout the course of the Festival. Let us and the public know you are open by using the hashtag #OpenforEvergreen on social media.

Packaged foods or those that have been cooked/prepared on licensed premises can be served, such as hot chocolate, coffee, tea and/or cookies, sweets, and chocolates.

However, without an appropriate food license, a retailer cannot prepare and serve food on site. If you are unsure, please reach out to kconnely@discoverhalifaxns.com to confirm whether your offer meets food safety regulations.

Yes! You can offer extended hours during the course of the Festival. Let us and the public know that you are open by using the hashtag #OpenforEvergreen on social media.
OR, if you’ve got a big idea, you can contact Jenna at Develop NS to discuss programming and/or light installation.

This Festival is meant to attract and draw locals and visitors alike outside to shop, explore and mingle – safely. It is expected that increased foot traffic, motivated by Evergreen, will result in an opportunity to increase traffic to retailers, especially those who are intentionally making a connection and embracing the essence of the outdoor festival.  We believe the draw of this event will also create benefits for retailers throughout the whole festival.

These weather-tight wooden structure Chalets are 2.87m x 2.24m (see License Agreement for specifications) and equipped with basic power. Develop Nova Scotia will supply each vendor with a 2×2 sign that includes a logo and business name. Vendors can add their own shelving and product display and are encouraged to add accents, illumination and more to the interior of the chalets to reflect their brand and offering.

Chalets are equipped with basic power only. They do not have water or sewage services and are not equipped for food service. Any vendors wishing to serve food will be required to adhere to current health and food service guidelines.