Hamilton Winterfest picks up 2 awards at Ontario conference in Niagara Falls

Hamilton Winterfest has won two awards from Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) for its efforts in providing cultural and recreational events in 2022.

Hamilton Winterfest ranked as one of the Top 100 Festivals and Events in Ontario, in addition to winning the Achievement Award for Sponsor of the Year — in the event budget category $100,001 to $500,000 — in conjunction with the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA).

Representatives of the City of Hamilton and Cobalt Connects Creativity accepted the awards during a ceremony held at the annual FEO conference in Niagara Falls on March 8. 

"We were absolutely thrilled when we heard about the awards," founder of Cobalt Connects Jeremy Freiburger told CBC Hamilton.

"It's a strange festival but we're happy to see the growth of Frost Bites, the fashion week and the comedy shows that's been coming into the mix."

Freiburger said he loved the design and structure of the Auchmar House — the 2022 venue, on Hamilton Mountain — but it was missing much of the infrastructure needed to continue running a festival there.

This year's Winterfest was held from Feb. 1 to 20, with its main hub on the Jackson Square roof.

"I think this year on the roof of Jackson Square is as close as we've gotten to executing the kind of aesthetic and artistic vision we have for where we want to go with Winterfest," Freiburger said.

According to Freiburger, Cobalt Connects has been contracted to co-produce Winterfest with the City of Hamilton since 2019.

The budget started with about $40,000 in 2019 growing to more than $700,000 in 2023, which included more than 70 events hosted in the neighbourhood.

Freiburger said the steady growth and evolution of the festival was very satisfying, and learning from other national festivals — like ones held in Montreal — helped get Winterfest to become a true outdoor winter festival.

Fest 'shows real leadership': HOPA

The sponsor of the year award was in recognition of HOPA's annual contributions in the $5,000 to $7,500 range over the last five years, and its support for new or enhancing aspects of the festival.

According to the City of Hamilton, HOPA supported the Winterfest Hub's first major Indigenous partnership with Dorset Fine Arts and the geodesic dome stage at the Auchmar Estate, where the festival ran last year. 

"We've been thrilled to support Winterfest for the past several years and we agree it's one of the very best community events in Ontario," said Larissa Fenn, vice-president of corporate affairs at HOPA.

She also said the way the city and Cobalt Connects have incorporated Indigenous art and artists into the festival "shows real leadership" and that "it's a wonderful way to showcase that work."

The festival brings community-led experiences to over 70,000 people each February, Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement.

"I want to thank Winterfest event producers, participants, sponsors, volunteers and the city's co-producer Cobalt Connects Creativity for creating a truly diverse city-wide festival," she said.