Eleven festivals and events in Prince Edward County designed for residents and visitors have received $65,000 in funding from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) to support activities over the fall, winter and spring and to ensure they meet COVID-related requirements.
Events receiving funding include: Ghosts of Camp Picton, Hallowe’en at Mustang Drive In, DeRAIL, Firelight Lantern Festival, Regent Theatre, Skale Brewing Winterfest, Flashback February, Maple in The County, Cross County Crackup with Comedy Country, Storytelling Workshop with Emmanuel Jal and the All Welcome Here POCnic.
Providing funding for new and reimagined events is part of a tourism recovery strategy that incorporated input from the mayor’s Economic Recovery Team and was developed in consultation with the Destination Development and Marketing Working Group.
The strategy also includes:
- Development of an updated Visitor Guide and visitor-focused promotional materials
- Workshops, coaching and marketing support for experience development
- Microgrants to support marketing of new products or experiences
- An expanded Countylicious program
- Showcasing and developing County culinary opportunities with the Culinary Tourism Alliance
- Development of a strategy, packages and materials to support small group wellness retreats, corporate retreats and incentive travel
- Finalization of a long-term strategy guiding future development of the tourism sector
