Town of Newmarket earns municipality of year award for events

'Winning Municipality of the Year from Festivals and Events Ontario puts Newmarket on the map as one of Ontario’s top destinations for music, arts and local events,' says mayor

Newmarkettoday.ca
March 10, 2023
Joseph Quigley

Festivals and Events Ontario has named Newmarket as one of its municipalities of the year for its efforts in putting on events in 2022.

The Town of Newmarket earned the award for the mid-sized municipality category (50,000 to 150,000 population) as part of the organization’s awards, announced March 8.

The town said it was able to help put on many popular events throughout the year, including the TD Newmarket Music Series, York Region Pride Festival, Tim Hortons Canada Day and Haunted Halloween Trail.

“Winning Municipality of the Year from Festivals and Events Ontario puts Newmarket on the map as one of Ontario’s top destinations for music, arts and local events,” Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said in a news release. “What I love about our events is the energy you feel at them and that there is truly an event for everyone in our community.”

Festivals and Events Ontario represents more than 1,400 festivals and events throughout the province. It has annual awards for its membership, highlighting the achievements of various event organizers.

Newmarket was one of three municipalities recognized, with Amherstburg winning for the small municipality and nearby Richmond Hill winning in the large municipality category.

The town said it also sponsors and supports numerous local events hosted by other organizations, such as the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce.

A full slate of events for the year was also released by the town. It includes York Region Pride Festival June 16 to 17, Canada Day, the TD Newmarket Music Series throughout the summer, Moonlight Movies in August, the Haunted Halloween Trail and Santa Claus Parade Nov. 18, among others.

“I’m incredibly proud of our staff for coming back so strong after pausing and pivoting during the pandemic to bring our community back together in person when we needed it the most,” Taylor said.

The municipality also released a video for the occasion on its Youtube channel, highlighting events in the past year.