RTO 9 Announces 9 Additional Partnership Proposal Recipients
We are pleased to announce that we have awarded over 45k from our Partnership Fund to support projects across the region as a result of our second intake of applications. Partnership Funds allow us to partner with tourism operators across the region to grow tourism receipts within South Eastern Ontario.
Over the years, the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries has provided us with Partnership Funding that is used to leverage a variety of projects that support the growth of tourism within the region. Projects vary in scope from events to marketing initiatives to product development and training.
The following is the list of successful recipients and project descriptions:
Brockville
The Aquatarium – Family Day Mermaid Experience
The Aquatarium will be hiring mermaids to perform in the exhibit area on a weekend in March. Funding is for Mermaid performers who will interact with children, marketing, photographer, and more.
1000 Islands & Rideau Canal Waterways
Furnace Falls Farm – Music on the Farm Series
Furnace Falls Farm will expand on their warmer weather event offerings to include the winter months. They will host 3 events at their location. These events will feature two musical family bands, a farmhouse snack & juice bar, a photographer, and more. On March 5th they will host a special event to celebrate female Singer/Songwriters at and will include charcuterie, tapas, and cocktails prepared on-site by a local winery.
Kingston
Kingstonlicious Plus
Running simultaneously with Kingstonlicious, partners AquaTerra and Wharf & Feather commit to new programming for Kingstonlicious Plus. There will be a Maïtre Fromager culinary event at Wharf & Feather, which includes a talk by the guest maïtre on the farm-to-table connections of various cheeses, followed by a dinner incorporating cheeses as well as local produce. In late February, there will be an interactive fine dining and wine-pairing event at AquaTerra, featuring a guest chef and guest sommelier.
Kingston Canadian Film Festival
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival transforms traditional and unconventional venues across Kingston’s historic downtown into a dynamic festival setting from March 3 to 13, 2022. Did you know it’s the largest festival in the world devoted solely to Canadian film? It’s a yearly whirlwind of movies and events that spark curiosity, ignite discussion, and provide a fresh experience of Canadian film. This year, you can attend in-person, digitally – or both!
Kingston Writers Fest – Winter Writer’s Retreat
To mount an off-season, intensive writers’ master class program to aspiring writers in order to maintain a top-of-mind presence for Kingston WritersFest year-round. To entice out-of-town participants at what is traditionally a quiet time of year, to enjoy two to four days of inspiration and revitalization. To work on their craft, explore the city of Kingston, and enjoy an extended stay at a partner hotel.
Kingston Punk Productions – KPP at 20
The KPP AT 20 project is a celebration of their 20th anniversary and will host some of the backlogged tours and artists that are yearning to hit the road as venues have reopened. This final leg of KPP AT 20 project will run until the end of March and see four big-name artists playing intimate venues in Kingston.
Martello Alley – Froid’Art
Froid’Art is an enchanting, fun, family-friendly, free public art exhibit that embraces winter in a most unique manner. Local artists create pieces of artwork on 16” x 32” pieces of Plexiglas which are then frozen into 300-pound blocks of crystal clear ice. The goal is to make the downtown community more appealing during winter while encouraging consumerism and appreciation of downtown, its businesses, and architecture.
Prince Edward County
Rosehaven Yarn Shop – Knit Away Weekend
This Knit Retreat was started in 2014 at Jackson’s Falls with 20 people. It has now grown to 50 attendees over the years! The plan is to continue to grow this retreat so more people from the area can spend a relaxing weekend engaging in meditation and knitting.
Frontenac County
The Hotel on Wolfe Island – Winter Concert Series
The Hotel will be expanding from its extremely successful events to build a robust winterlong concert series featuring regional artists. Events will include album launches, livestreams, regular music series in our beautiful newly appointed live room for band events, in addition to a concert room for acoustic and jazz performances. Recent music events draw capacity crowds from both the island and mainland and as far away as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can enhance or develop new tourism products in South Eastern Ontario, please contact Lori McIsaac, Director Experiential Tourism Development, at lmcIsaac@region9tourism.ca.
About RTO 9
RTO 9 is a regional tourism organization established in 2010 that is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries. RTO 9 actively promotes tourism for the South Eastern Ontario region and works to support and grow the tourism industry through marketing, product development, investment attraction, and workforce development initiatives. The regions of South Eastern Ontario are 1000 Islands Gananoque, Bay of Quinte, Brockville, Cornwall and Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Counties, Frontenac County, Kingston, Lennox and Addington, Prince Edward County, and the Rideau Canal Waterways.