It's Your Festival

TOP 50 FESTIVALS IN ONTARIO

1. The Hamilton Folk Arts Heritage Council is a non-profit organization established in 1969. We have attracted over 6 million spectators in the course of 37 years with "It's Your Festival" celebrating Canada's Birthday in historic Gage Park. Marketing programs that we have adopted are the Media, Publications, Newspaper inserts, Billboards, and Radio. We network with hotels and other communities as well as other festivals, and all levels of government. CHTV, Cable 14, Y108, CHAM 900, Country 95.3, 102.9 K-Lite, Oldies 1150, CKOC, The Hamilton Spectator, City Parent, Forever Young, CNE, Western Fair, African Lion Safari, Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Trillium Foundation and City of Hamilton are some of the marketing strategies that we have adopted to attract 250,000 spectators to Hamilton annually.

2. "It's Your Festival" components are: Top Entertainment, Top Headliners, International Food Villages, 150 Arts and Crafts, The Hamilton Spectator Spelling Bee, Ontario Youth Talent Search, Official Flag Raising Ceremony, A Special Canadian Citizenship Ceremony, Midway, Folkloric Dance, Pony Rides as well as numerous children's activities. Due to free admission to the general public there is no such measurement as to tickets sold or entrance fees. However, we could estimate by parking and products sold for example water, food, Lakeport Beer Garden etc. Top Headliners such as, Grady, Saga, Blessed and Teenagehead have attracted many spectators from, not only Hamilton, but surrounding area too. Annually, "It's Your Festival" has attracted over 250,000 spectators over the course of 4 to 5 days.

3. With the nomination in the 2005 Readers Choice Awards for favorite entertainment, "It's Your Festival" is one of the oldest and the biggest Canada Day Festivals in Canada according to the Minister of the Department of Canadian Heritage. "It's Your Festival" is one of Top 50 Festivals in Onatrio.

We represent 20 ethnic member groups, 45 non-profit service sectors. "It's Your Festival" has created harmony and entertainment between all cultures and has many stakeholders. We have received the highest recognition from the Prime Minister, Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Mayor for the City of Hamilton, as a volunteer organization. Our volunteers put in excess of 300,000 hours annually to help make every year a success, this also contributed to tourism in Hamilton as well as having significant impact on economic development of the city.