Transition Brockville              

Ottawa Citizen / Mark Brownlee / 15 January 2012

Unpredictable February weather will force Winterlude to focus less on its winter theme in the years to come, organizers say of the festival that has traditionally drawn tourists by celebrating Canada’s cold climate.

Fluctuating temperatures have wreaked havoc on the event in the past few years. Temperatures went as high as 10 C on the Friday before the last weekend of the 2011 edition, forcing organizers to change some marquee events such as the ice sculpture competition and to temporarily close the Rideau Canal to skating.

The event’s organizer, the federally-funded National Capital Commission, has already moved to diversify its lineup from such traditional winter-themed activities to those not dependent on weather. This year’s events include a jazz festival in Confederation Park and a beer and ice wine festival in Gatineau.

[ FULL ARTICLE HERE ]

U of Calgary Gauntlet / Amy Badry / 28 July 2011

As the Calgary Folk Music Festival turned 31 years old last week, it showed it's still capable of introducing attendees to new ideas, musical or otherwise. This year the Folk Fest yet again increased the number of eco-initiatives at the festival.

One volunteer said the eco-friendly culture of Folk Fest had a major impact on her decision to volunteer.

"The eco-initiatives had a huge impact on my decision to become more involved," said Folk Fest volunteer and U of C French and sociology student Keisha Russell. "I have been to other festivals much smaller than Folk Fest and I realised that doing the right thing environmentally does not have to be hard."

For 14 years CFMF has been engaging in eco-initiatives to offset carbon emissions and reduce waste.

 
Who should attend?

Mayors, Councillors, planners, engineers, parks and recreation staff, cycling enthusiasts, tourism and economic development officials, law enforcement, public health officials, retailers, educators – in short everyone whose responsibility and passion includes building bicycle friendly communities.

Water-on-Wheels (WOW) is a family-owned and operated company that launched our unique service in early 2010. In our first year since launching, we have experienced overwhelming success in our goal to assist festivals, and other events across Ontario in decreasing the presence of commercially-bottled water at events.

Bottled water is a growing socially sensitive environmental issue and one that is resulting in many cities, townships and municipalities across Ontario moving towards becoming "Bottled-water free"
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Water-on-Wheels helps festivals, athletic events, street shows, concerts and public events in keeping their event patrons hydrated by providing fully-staffed water stations so thirsty event goers may continuously re-fill their reusable water bottles for free.

Water-on-Wheels offers the rental of mobile water distribution stations that connect to existing water sources to provide event guests with the opportunity to refill their re-usable water bottles with free charcoal-filtered drinking water onsite at an event where a municipal or potable water source is available.

[ CORPORATE WEBSITE HERE ]

Peak Moment TV / 06 September 2007

Michelle Long shows us how a highly successful local independent business network has transformed Bellingham, Washington, while inspiring other communities. From an initial “Think Local First” program, they have expanded to business peer mentoring, and support for local food producers, sustainable buildings, and green energy. An astounding sixty percent of their community are not only aware of the Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local campaign but have changed their buying habits. [www.sustainableconnections.org]

 
WHAT: Celebrate Ontario Funding Information Session
WHEN: Monday, October 26th at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Thousand Islands Playhouse, Fire Hall Threatre Gananoque

Ontario's festivals and events are major economic drivers for communities across the province. They enrich local communities and increase tourism and tourist spending.

 
Location: Confederation Park, Ottawa

Group Ecosphere — a non-profit organization, in collaboration with The Rideau Canal Festival, will hold its second multidisciplinary fair entirely dedicated to ecology and the environment. The main goal of this event is to bring awareness to the population, as well as inform and educate them by bringing together some of the key people in the environmental world.

Over 70 Exhibitors!