ON-Ramp: New Horizons in Cultural Tourism

Wednesday, June 8 to Thursday, June 9, 2022

Thank you to those of you who attended ON-Ramp: New Horizons in Cultural Tourism. We enjoyed hosting you over two days of discussion, networking, and problem-solving. Thank you to our speakers and performers for their valuable insights and thoughtful discussions. And thank you to Now Playing TorontoOntario Cultural Attractions Fund, and Destination Northern Ontario. Our symposium would not be possible without their generous support.

Our second annual symposium, ON-Ramp: New Horizons in Cultural Tourism, is an intimate, two-day event investigating the state of reopening for the arts, culture and tourism sectors.

The road to recovery has presented new challenges to audience development and community engagement. At this gathering, the arts, culture and tourism sectors can convene to discuss and solve for these challenges.

Ontario Culture Days will be hosting in-person symposium events at a reduced capacity of 50%. In-person symposium events will follow all COVID-19 protocols as established by public health, and all organizational policies as determined by Ontario Culture Days and the symposium venue. The symposium will be a mask-friendly event.

Constantine
15 Charles Street East 647-475-4436
Celebrating the diverse cuisine of the Mediterranean
constantineto.com

Eataly Toronto
Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West 437-374-0250
Italian marketplace with restaurants and take-away counters
eataly.ca

Holt’s Café
50 Bloor Street West 416-355-2832
Contemporary Canadian cuisine
holtrenfrew.com

Hemingway’s Restaurant and Bar
142 Cumberland Street 416-968-2828 Rooftop patio, draft beers & pub eats
Hemingways.to

Sassafraz
100 Cumberland Street 416-964-2222
Market-driven Canadian cuisine
sassafraz.ca

Trattoria Nervosa
75 Yorkville Avenue 416-961-4642
Home-cooked Southern Italian food
eatnervosa.com

Clay Restaurant
111 Queens Park, 3rd Floor 416-586-8086
In-house restaurant at the Gardiner Museum
clay.restaurant

The Pilot
22 Cumberland Street 416-923-5716
Historic venue with a dining room and a heated rooftop patio
thepilot.ca

Alobar Yorkville
57a-162 Cumberland Street 416-961-1222
Cocktail bar and restaurant
alobaryorkville.com

We acknowledge and thank Now Playing Toronto, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and Destination Northern Ontario for their support of this project.

In-Person Schedule

In-Person  | June 8, 2022

Frederic Dimanche talks with Greg Richards about global perspectives on the state of cultural tourism, and different international initiatives to continue recovery and rebuilding in our sectors.

Frederic Dimanche
Director, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

Greg Richards
Professor of Placemaking and Events at Breda University of Applied Sciences, Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Tilburg in The Netherlands

8:30 – 9:30 am | Registration, coffee and tea

Catherine Tàmmaro
utrihǫt /Artist
People of the Little (Spotted) Turtle
Wyandot of Anderdon Nation
Wendat Confederacy
Indigenous Arts Program Manager
Toronto Arts Council

Ruth Burns
Executive Director,
Ontario Culture Days

Shawn Newman
Research Advisor and Consultant

Louis-Etienne Dubois
Associate Professor, Creative Industries Management,
Toronto Metropolitan University

The session will highlight the huge demand for travel among Black people, a growth sector that is overlooked in traditional tourism marketing and events. From local to global tourism the session will offer suggestions on how to engage Black travellers.

Jacqueline Scott
Blog Writer for Black Outdoors
and PhD Candidate, University of Toronto

10:45 – 11:00 am | Break

The age-old question! Join Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois of Toronto Metropolitan University, Tim Jennings of the Shaw Festival and Vikas Kohli, of MonstrARTity and Bollywood Monster Mashup, as they tackle this question from their unique vantage points of policy and research analyst and digital media expert, CEO of a major Ontario theatre festival, and Producer of the largest South Asian festival in Canada. Kathleen Sharpe, of the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, will moderate and intervene to extract their secrets for making the economic case and provide helpful hacks.

Moderator

Kathleen Sharpe
Executive Director, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

Tim Jennings,
Executive Director, Shaw Festival

Vikas Kohl
Head of MonstrARTity and
Vice Board Chair, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

11:45 – 1:15pm | Catered Lunch

This panel discussion will focus on how multiple organizations from the tourism and cultural sectors have come together to create, market, and execute compelling cultural experiences that resonate with visitors to further the appreciation of cultural assets in Sault Ste. Marie and the broader Algoma Region. What are the successes, challenges, and opportunities as we look to increased visitation in a post-pandemic environment?

Heather Bot
Executive Director, Algoma Kinniwabi Travel Association

Carol Caputo
Northern Partnerships, Destination Ontario

Kathy Fisher
Curator/Supervisor, Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site

Donna Hilsinger
Executive Director, The Algoma Fall Festival

Jasmina Jovanovic
Executive Director, Art Gallery of Algoma

David MacLachlan
Executive Director, Destination Northern Ontario

Launched in early 2022, Now Playing Toronto is a one-stop online destination for all things arts and culture in the city. Following a brief introduction to what RTOs and DMOs are, in this talk the leaders of this joint venture share insights into how it was built and ways that other communities in Ontario might collaborate across the arts and tourism divide.

Sarah Jarvis
Destination Toronto

Jacoba Knaapen
Executive Director, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts

The Shaw Festival has been able to be optimistic in the way it has approached its work within the pandemic and in how it has mitigated hardships on its artists and arts workers, resulting in North America’s largest season of theatre in 2021. Postulating a front-footed approach to recovery, Tim Jennings will discuss both Shaw’s optimistic outlook and the charitable impetus that ties Shaw into their wider Niagara community and positions them as a key factor in restarting regional tourism and in Niagara’s broader economic regeneration.

Tim Jennings
Executive Director, Shaw Festival

5:00 – 6:30 pm  |  Reception

In-Person  |  June 9, 2022

8:45 – 9:00 am  |  Registration, Coffee and Tea

This panel presentation will take a look at what a municipality, a Franco- Ontarian cultural organization, and an arts service organization have in common and why they decided to work towards a mutual goal. Gordon Duff (Town of Minto), Stéphanie Filippi (la Maison de la Culture Francophone du Niagara), and Rachel Marks (Réseau SPARC Network) will talk about the SPARC Communities projects and what it means for their organizations, the rural and remote arts and communities, and tourism.

Communautés collaboratives : Comment le soutien aux arts et à la culture en miliru rural favorise la qualité de vie et le tourisme hyperlocal.

Cette présentation en panel examinera ce qu’une municipalité, un organisme culturel franco-ontarien et un organisme de services artistiques ont en commun et pourquoi ils ont décidé de travailler à un objectif commun. Gordon Duff, Ville de Minto ; Stéphanie Filippi, Maison de la Culture Francophone du Niagara (MCFN); et Rachel Marks, Réseau SPARC Network, parleront des projets communautées SPARC et de ce qu’ils signifient pour leurs organisations, les arts et les communautés rurales et éloignées, et le tourisme.

Gordon Duff
Board Member, Réseau SPARC Network (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural and Remote Communities)

Stéphanie Filippi
Project Manager – Chef de Projet, La Maison de la Culture Francophone du Niagara

Rachel Marks
Network Coordinator, Réseau SPARC Network

A discussion about how communities and organizations have fostered support for artists, while also building local cultural capacity and resiliency during the pandemic and beyond. The creative sector is an integral part of healthy communities, and a key element of placemaking. Join Jaymie Laythem, Executive Director of Creative Industries North Bay, and Glass artist and grass roots community builder Christy Haldane, as they share about the essential role that the arts play in our collective daily lives.

Christy Haldane
Sculpture Artist, Board Member at Craft Ontario

Janna Hiemstra
Executive Director, Craft Ontario

Jaymie Lathem
Executive Director, Creative Industries North Bay

10:35 – 10:45 am | Break

Understand Indigenous people when trying to build long term relationships. Work together to create inclusive environments, and observe a few methods used in developing a tourism project on a 1st nation territory that surrounds the St. Lawrence River waterway.

Beatrice Johnson Tarbell
CEO/Lead Consultant, JTservices.ca

Hear from Carol Greenwood (Vice President, Membership & Business Development) and Dr. Jessica Ng (Director, Policy & Government Affairs) from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. They will speak to TIAO’s changing approach to arts and culture in recent years, and their observations in the wake of the recent provincial election.

Moderator

Justin LaFontaine
Program Lead, Tourism Innovation Lab

Dr. Jessica Ng,
Director, Policy and Government Affairs, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario

Carol Greenwood
Vice President, Membership & Business Development, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario

12:35 – 12:45 pm | Symposium Closing by Ruth Burns and Thanksgiving Address by Elder Catherine Tàmmaro

1:00 – 2:00 pm | Lunch

Kensington Market/Graffiti Alley

This walk will focus primarily on the area of Kensington Market and stopping at Graffiti Alley. Kensington Market is an eclectic pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood situated right beside Chinatown. First developed in 1815 and sold to British and Irish immigrants in the 1850s 1860s, eventually Afro-Caribbean, Chinese and East Indian business people moved into the neighbourhood and opened up shops. Kensington is home to unique independent shops, hostels, tattoo parlours, residential and a strong community presence. Just last year, the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) acquired 54-56 Kensington Avenue — a part commercial, part-residential property that homes five commercial spaces and 12 residential units.

Guide:

Enna Kim
Muralist, Hike Leader at Let’s Hike T.O.

Hidden in plain sight, a Black history walk in Yorkville

This walk will explore the clubs and performers listed on the heritage plaques, including Oscar Peterson; the Black burials in the former Potter’s Field, as well as the parks nearby.

Guide:

Jacqueline Scott
Black Outdoors and University of Toronto

Virtual Schedule

Virtual  |  June 8, 2022

Frederic Dimanche talks with Greg Richards about global perspectives on the state of cultural tourism, and different international initiatives to continue recovery and rebuilding in our sectors.

Frederic Dimanche
Director, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

Greg Richards
Professor of Placemaking and Events at Breda University of Applied Sciences, Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Tilburg in The Netherlands

Ruth Burns
Executive Director,
Ontario Culture Days

Shawn Newman
Research Advisor and Consultant

Louis-Etienne Dubois
Associate Professor, Creative Industries Management,
Toronto Metropolitan University

The session will highlight the huge demand for travel among Black people, a growth sector that is overlooked in traditional tourism marketing and events. From local to global tourism the session will offer suggestions on how to engage Black travellers.

Jacqueline Scott
Blog Writer for Black Outdoors
and PhD Candidate, University of Toronto

The age-old question! Join Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois of Toronto Metropolitan University, Tim Jennings of the Shaw Festival and Vikas Kohli, of MonstrARTity and Bollywood Monster Mashup, as they tackle this question from their unique vantage points of policy and research analyst and digital media expert, CEO of a major Ontario theatre festival, and Producer of the largest South Asian festival in Canada. Kathleen Sharpe, of the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, will moderate and intervene to extract their secrets for making the economic case and provide helpful hacks.

Moderator

Kathleen Sharpe
Executive Director, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

Tim Jennings,
Executive Director, Shaw Festival

Vikas Kohl
Head of MonstrARTity and
Vice Board Chair, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

This panel discussion will focus on how multiple organizations from the tourism and cultural sectors have come together to create, market, and execute compelling cultural experiences that resonate with visitors to further the appreciation of cultural assets in Sault Ste. Marie and the broader Algoma Region. What are the successes, challenges, and opportunities as we look to increased visitation in a post-pandemic environment?

Heather Bot
Executive Director, Algoma Kinniwabi Travel Association

Carol Caputo
Northern Partnerships, Destination Ontario

Kathy Fisher
Curator/Supervisor, Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site

Donna Hilsinger
Executive Director, The Algoma Fall Festival

Jasmina Jovanovic
Executive Director, Art Gallery of Algoma

David MacLachlan
Executive Director, Destination Northern Ontario

Launched in early 2022, Now Playing Toronto is a one-stop online destination for all things arts and culture in the city. Following a brief introduction to what RTOs and DMOs are, in this talk the leaders of this joint venture share insights into how it was built and ways that other communities in Ontario might collaborate across the arts and tourism divide.

Sarah Jarvis
Destination Toronto

Jacoba Knaapen
Executive Director, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts

The Shaw Festival has been able to be optimistic in the way it has approached its work within the pandemic and in how it has mitigated hardships on its artists and arts workers, resulting in North America’s largest season of theatre in 2021. Postulating a front-footed approach to recovery, Tim Jennings will discuss both Shaw’s optimistic outlook and the charitable impetus that ties Shaw into their wider Niagara community and positions them as a key factor in restarting regional tourism and in Niagara’s broader economic regeneration.

Tim Jennings
Executive Director, Shaw Festival