Attention BruceGreySimcoe Festivals and Events Planners! Registration is now open for two FREE AGCO workshops being held in November. One takes place in Innisfil on November 17
th and the other in Port Elgin on November 24
th. Hosted by RTO7, the Town of Innisfil and the Town of Saugeen Shores, the workshops cover what you need to know before hosting a licensed event or festival. Registration is required and can be done online by visiting the RTO7.ca
calendar of events.
A reminder to circle the date of
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 on your calendar for the BruceGreySimcoe Tourism Conference. This is the first collaborative conference hosted by RTO7, Bruce, Grey and Simcoe Counties, an amalgamation of the annual fall Grey Bruce Tourism Conference and Simcoe’s “Beyond the City Lights”. It is being held at Meaford Hall - registration details and the day’s agenda will soon be announced.
Ontario is seeking input for the development of the province’s first Culture Strategy. As part of the information collection process, a series of town halls are being held, with one in Barrie on October 13
th. For those unable to attend the town halls, ideas can also be shared online through the new “Culture Talks”
website. Read the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s September 24, 2015
News Release for background information and more.
One of RTO7’s 2014/15
Partnership Funding partners, Clearview Township is gearing up for its second annual Small Halls Festival, Oct 1 to 4. Recipient of FEO’s “Achievement Award for best new event of 2014”, this year’s event underwent some minor changes to make it even more successful in 2015 with nine halls hosting more than 60 events. Some are free and some are ticketed such as comedian Ron James, celebrity chef Michael Stadtlander and folk rock band The Skydiggers. Simcoe.com attended the September 16
th media launch at Creemore’s Station on the Green – read that story
here. For more info on the Small Halls Festival and a schedule of events, visit their
website.
And, as one of RTO7’s 2013/14 Partnership Funding partners, Kincardine undertook a Surfing Feasibility Study. The sport is continuing to grow steadily at the community’s
Station Beach, with fall being prime surfing season. During the past week, a local surfer – Bianca Wong – captured some raw video footage, which was picked up by both the Globe and Mail and CBC News. Check out the video
here.
To meet the growing need for education and training of local food entrepreneurs, Georgian College is hosting two community seminars in October. The first is being held at its Orillia campus on October 26
th, “Food Entrepreneurship: Producing Economic Growth in Ontario’s Lake Country”. The second on October 28
th is being held in Midland, “Food Entrepreneurs: Celebrating Growth”. The daylong seminars are free but space is limited and tickets are required. For more information, read the September 16
th News Release.
Cycle Simcoe announced that outdoor repair stations for cyclists will be installed across Simcoe County this year. Over 10 stations will be built locally and designed to meet the needs of minor bike maintenance emergencies. Watch the
video to see how the stations work.
Wasaga Beach Council voted unanimously to pass a by-law allowing licensed all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to travel on the municipal road shoulders. This is expected to increase tourism by allowing easy access to gas stations, restaurants and accommodations. The area is currently home to many ATV trails. Read more in the
article by Gisele Winton Sarvis for The Enterprise Bulletin.
If you haven’t yet registered for the 2015 Ontario Tourism Summit on November 9
th and 10
th in Toronto, you can still do so by visiting the Summit
website.