October 2014  
In this Issue
Celebrate Ontario Funding Workshop | Thursday, October 9th, 2014
Register Now: Staging Successful Events & Festivals | Monday, October 20th, 2014
Nominate a Business For a Taste of Tourism Award
Celebrating Equine Excellence in Headwaters Horse Country
Recognition for Hills of Headwaters Arts Community
Alton Mill's Cuisine-Art nominated for Ontario Culinary Tourism Award
Connecting Canada
Register your business with the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association
Make your tourism business accessible | Wed. Oct. 22, 2014
Keep us up-to-date on events and newsworthy happenings

CELEBRATE ONTARIO FUNDING WORKSHOP
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 2014

 

The province's Celebrate Ontario 2015 funding program is currently open for applications. To assist tourism-focused events and festivals in applying for funding, the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association is hosting a workshop on Tuesday, October 9th at 10:00 am. The workshop will provide valuable tips and insights to help with the application process. The session will also be an opportunity to connect with other festival organizers in your area to discuss your plans and explore collaborative opportunities. Review the program guidelines, as some changes have been made since last year.

 

Register for the Celebrate Ontario workshop, as seating is limited.

 

 

REGISTER NOW: STAGING SUCCESSFUL EVENTS & FESTIVALS 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2014 

 

Get a jump on planning your next successful festival or event with a one-day workshop. You won't want to miss this in-depth session where you'll learn best practises for staging successful events! Learn about:

  • developing successful event themes;
  • volunteers;
  • risk management;
  • dealing with vendors;
  • sponsorship and grants.
Speaker Jan Bonhomme has more than 30 years' experience coordinating large award-winning events. As Manager of the Eastern Ontario Events Centre, she currently provides festival support to more than 50 events each year. Jan truly understands and believes in the importance of combining recreation, tourism and special events to benefit not only the visitor but also every small town in Ontario. Registration check-in begins: 9:30am. Seminar: 10:00am-3:30pm. Lunch is included. We look forward to seeing you!

 

Register Now! Click on the calendar to register.

 

 

NOMINATE A BUSINESS FOR A TASTE OF TOURISM AWARD 

 

Every year the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association honours the businesses and individuals that make the Headwaters region such a special place. We encourage visitors and residents to recognize the exceptional hospitality and experience they receive when visiting any of our fabulous regional businesses. Nominate your favourite businesses and operators and recognize how they make the Hills of Headwaters special. Nominations are now open in the following categories:
  • Best Arts, Culture or Heritage Experience
  • Artisan of the Year
  • Best Agri-Tourism Experience
  • Tourism Event or Festival of the Year
  • Best Culinary Tourism Experience
  • Best Overnight Getaway Experience
  • Best Customer Service Experience - Business
  • Best Customer Service Experience - Individual
  • Best New Tourism Business
  • Tourism Innovator
  • Tourism Ambassador
Deadline for nominations is October 31st. Awards will be presented at our Taste of Tourism celebration on Wednesday, November 19th.

 

 

CELEBRATING EQUINE EXCELLENCE IN HEADWATERS HORSE COUNTRY 

 

Congratulations to the Headwaters Equine Leadership Group and all the participants in Thursday's Evening of Celebration. Over 500 guests enjoyed networking, fabulous food and an exceptional showcase of Headwaters Horse Country talent.

 

Congratulations are also extended to art contest finalists, and grand prize winner Amanda Melinz for her painting Show Horse. The horse fun doesn't end - make sure you visit some of the locations on this weekend's 7th Annual Headwaters Horse Country Stable Tour.

 

 

RECOGNITION FOR HILLS OF HEADWATERS ARTS COMMUNITY 

  

Congratulations to the Headwaters region arts & culture award recipients who were recognized at the recent Town of Orangeville Breakfast for the Arts. The 2014 awards recipients are:

  • Established Artist of the Year: Ken Hall
  • Young Student Artist of the Year: Graham Maycock
  • Arts Educator of the Year Award: Joy Bell
  • Community Arts Volunteer Advocate Award: Gary Brown
  • Community Impact by an Organization Award: Orangeville Music Theatre
  • Community Impact by a Business Award: TD Canada Trust (Orangeville branches)
  • Creative Cultural Event Award: Headwaters Arts Festival.

 

CUISINE-ART NOMINATED FOR ONTARIO CULINARY TOURISM AWARD

 

Alton Mill's Cuisine-Art, the annual summer celebration of food and art, was recently named a finalist for the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance's 2014 Event of the Year.

The winner will be announced at OCTA's annual summit on November 12th, 2014. Congratulations to all the artists, chefs, participants and organizers on this recognition.

 

CONNECTING CANADA 

   
Connecting Canadians is a key pillar of Digital Canada 150, a plan for Canadians to take full advantage of the opportunities of the digital age. Its aim is to provide greater access to high-speed Internet to Canadians across the country.

From the launch of Connecting Canadians in summer 2014 until 2017, the Government of Canada will invest up to $305 million over five years to extend high-speed Internet service to 280,000 households in rural and remote regions of the country that currently have slower or no Internet access. The federal government is inviting Canadians to provide feedback online to help better determine areas where there could be eligible projects.

 

INVITING TOURISM BUSINESSES TO REGISTER ONLINE WITH
THE HILLS OF HEADWATERS

 

STEP #1

REGISTER NOW: Free Tourism Business & Event Listing 

If you operate a tourism related business register your business for free and be part of the region's largest tourism focused website. With approximately 10,000 unique visitors each month on the Hills of Headwaters website, your business will benefit from additional exposure at NO COST, and will also be linked to the Central Counties Tourism website, that garners another 10,000 unique visitors each month. That's an opportunity to engage 20,000 unique visitors each month at NO COST to your business. What are you waiting for - sign up now!

 

STEP #2

EXPAND YOUR TOURISM MARKETING: Leading with the Best 

If you are actively engaged in the tourism industry in Headwaters and are looking to expand your marketing reach, we encourage you to consider our Leading with the Best program. Businesses that take part in this program will be promoted as leading tourism experiences to consumers and will become part of our targeted and featured promotions at the Hills of Headwaters and Central Counties through our digital and social media platforms.

 

To find out how to take part, contact our Hills of Headwaters Regional Field Manager:

Jo Fillery -  jfillery@centralcounties.ca | 519-831-7654

 

 

MAKE YOUR TOURISM BUSINESS ACCESSIBLE

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22ND, 2014 

 

People with disabilities have an estimated spending power of $25 billion annually across Canada.  15.5% of Ontarians have a disability. Be ready for the Parapan Am Games in 2015!

 

Presented by Central Counties Tourism.
Register here (click on Oct. 22nd  on the calendar)

 

KEEP US UP-TO-DATE ON EVENTS AND NEWSWORTHY HAPPENINGS  

 

Let us know about your events and newsworthy happenings so that we can help promote all that makes the Headwaters region special.

   

If you have press releases and photos about newsworthy events and happenings, please send them directly to our attention at media@headwatersregion.ca