Festivals and Events Ontario has named Ottawa the “Best Festival City” for cities with more than 200,000 residents, according to a City of Ottawa press release.
Nichole Fogarty, the communications co-ordinator for Festivals and Events Ontario, explained that a city that applies for the award has its festival scene evaluated by a panel of independent judges, who assess the city’s festivals using certain criteria.
These are outlined on the Festivals and Events Ontario website. Some of the main criteria include the extent to which a city’s festivals add to the quality of life for local residents, encourage community investment and creativity, and provide enhanced exposure opportunities for the arts, sports, not-for-profit causes, and other community programs.
Personally, Fogarty said she believed Ottawa won the award because of “the way (the city) organizes the events, and the way the community comes together.”
“The community has great pride in their city, and the city really supports the special events industry,” Fogarty said.
The organization’s website also contains a list of what they consider to be the “Top 100” festivals in Ontario.
The list includes Ottawa’s Bluesfest, Jazz Festival, various Canada Day celebrations that happen within the city July 1, and the summer light show known as Mosaika, where historical images are projected onto the Parliament Buildings nightly from July 10 to Sept. 7.
Although not making the list, Fogarty also said she believes the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, which showcases classical music, is another example of a quality festival held within the city.
Mayor Jim Watson is a passionate supporter of Ottawa’s festival scene, and said he takes a great deal of pride in the city being named the best festival city in Ontario.
Watson said he is “very proud of the award.”
“It recognizes the work of literally thousands of people in the city who put on some amazing festivals every year,” he said.
The main strengths of the city’s festivals, according to Watson, is the “large level of collaboration amongst all the festivals” in terms of sharing resources and co-ordinating event schedules.
He also said another of Ottawa’s strength is its “incredible volunteer base.”
Many of these acclaimed festivals are entirely driven by non-paid workers, he explained.
When asked which festival is his favorite, Watson laughed.
“That’s a tough question for a mayor to answer,” he replied.
As far as picking a favourite out of the bunch, Watson said he particularly respects the Chamber Music Festival as well as Music and Beyond, another classical music festival.
Both festivals take place in the summertime and use churches as venues. Watson said he considers the use of churches to be a “novel way to engage the community” and said he thinks the churches provide great acoustics for the music.
“Because I have no talent in music, I like watching and listening to people who do,” Watson laughed.
