Organizers of Toronto's Caribana festival say they are nervous the city's civic strike will ruin this year's celebrations as several events are now facing cancellation.

The strike has frozen city services for the past three weeks including garbage pickup. The Caribana festival weekend draws about a million people to the city but organizers say they don't have the money to hire private contractors.

Joe Halstead, the chair of the festival management committee, told CTV Toronto that organizers will do what they can to manage the garbage situation.

"The parade will go on," he said. "What we will do is arrange with the city to hopefully help us with some management staff and we will get a host of volunteers from our community to help us with garbage pickup after the festival."

The city's management was called in to help pick up trash after Toronto's popular Pride parade in June. The streets were clean by the next morning.

However, garbage isn't the issue that is posing the biggest threat to the festivities.

The much-anticipated Caribana launch party -- which has been held at Nathan Phillips Square for the past 42 years -- had to be moved so that picketers would not interfere with the party.

The launch party will now be held at Yonge-Dundas Square at the cost of $10,000.

Caribana's king and queen competition and the Pan Alive competition could be cancelled, as they are both held at Lamport Stadium -- a city-owned facility that is being regularly picketed by striking city workers.

"If we don't find an alternative venue that works for us logistically and financially then it won't happen," said Falstead.

The Olympic Island party is also in jeopardy as the strike has halted all ferry services to the Toronto Islands.

Falstead say Ontario Place is the first choice for an alternative venue.

Toronto's business community stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue if the events are cancelled. Caribana, which always takes place on the first weekend of August, typically draws in visitors from all over the U.S. and Canada.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Karlene Nation