NEWS

Niagara Food Festival announces plans for the “Peninsula’s Tastiest Party” October 2-4, 2009

Welland - The Niagara Food Festival celebrates its 16th anniversary on the weekend of October 2, 3, and 4, in historic downtown Welland. Niagara's biggest festival of food is an annual showcase that brings together local growers, producers, restaurateurs, chefs, wineries, and entertainers to celebrate the best the Niagara region has to offer.

The three-day event is expected to draw over 85,000 visitors from throughout Niagara and surrounding areas, including Hamilton, the GTA, and Western New York, to taste a variety of sensational samples offered by over 40 food and drink vendors. A community volunteer board will be building on the momentum of a very successful Niagara Food Festival in 2008 to ensure the annual festival remains one of Niagara’s premiere family events.

The 2009 Niagara Food Festival will continue its focus on local and regional food, restaurants, and wineries, and will appeal to people of all ages, particularly families. Young’s Insurance of Welland will again be the Festival’s presenting sponsor.

The downtown Welland location has proved to be very popular among festival attendees over the past two years, as it has provided great space for vendors, as well as more room for cooking demonstrations, entertainment, and parking, and allowed for full participation by Downtown businesses. The layout for 2009 will be slightly changed from previous years with the goal of better traffic flow and easier access to vendors during the busy times. The downtown site, set on streets and grounds around Welland’s Civic Centre and the historic Court House, is visitor-friendly and easy to access in any weather.

For 2009, the Niagara Food Festival has significantly enhanced efforts to minimize its environmental impact. New "Green" initiatives, such as ensuring vendors use compostable plates, will move the Niagara Food Festival closer to the ultimate target of zero waste.

Back for 2009 is the “Experience Niagara Market”, a showcase area for local farmer and food producers to highlight and sell local food products. Launched at last year's festival, this is a superb venue for local food producers and farmers to show the high quality and large variety of local foods being grown and produced in Niagara and neighbouring areas. The Niagara Food Festival has again partnered with Leadership Niagara’s project group “Buy Local Niagara” to bring this important initiative back for 2009.

Musical entertainment will again be a highlight, with top-calibre acts taking the stage all weekend. Friday night headliners are "Desire", a U2 tribute band, and "Staying Alive", a BeeGees tribute. On Saturday, the headliner is "Face to Face", a combined Elton John/Billy Joel tribute. A strong line-up of local entertainment acts will be featured throughout the weekend on the main Festival Stage, and a Children’s area will entertain young families.

New for 2009 is "Artist Alley", where James Gielfledt, artist and professor from Niagara College, will have his students showcase "grown in Niagara" canvases.

Other Festival highlights include:
- Celebrity Cooking Demos from the State-of-the Art Mobile Culinary Theatre
- The PYREX Apple Pie Baking Contest
- Pizza & Wing Delivery Challenge
- Crock Pot Firefighters Chili Cook Off
- Lot’s of roaming Buskers

To continue to guarantee the excellent value festivalgoers have enjoyed in the past, vendor menus will be priced to ensure items are available for all budgets and appetites. The fine wines of participating Niagara wineries will be featured, while festivalgoers will also be able to enjoy cold refreshments in the Festival Beer Garden.

The Niagara Food Festival was the recipient of a major funding boost from the Ontario government earlier this year. Through the “Celebrate Ontario 2009” program, the Ministry of Tourism approved the Niagara Food Festival’s funding application and announced over $35,000 in funding to assist the Festival in continuing to build its support infrastructure. Funding in 2008 allowed the construction of the Festival's "Mobile Culinary Theatre", which has been featured at various festivals throughout Ontario and Western New York over the past several months, including as a feature at the "Taste of Buffalo" in July.

The Festival has continued its partnership with Niagara College for 2009. In addition to participation by the College’s renowned Niagara Culinary Institute and the Niagara College Teaching Winery, the College will be using the Niagara Food Festival as a main venue for its major “Niagara College Homecoming Celebration”. Over 50,000 Niagara College Alumni and former employees are being invited to the celebration.

Niagara Food Festival information will be updated on the website:
www.niagarafoodfestival.com

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For more information, contact:
Jane Thompson
Festival Coordinator
905-735-1700 Ex. 2133

Gord Hunchak
Festival Communications
905-650-7820

2008 Niagara Food Festival a huge
success with record crowds

Welland - The Niagara Food Festival celebrated its 15th anniversary by hosting record crowds over the October 3, 4, and 5 weekend in downtown Welland. The annual culinary showcase brought together growers, producers, restaurants, chefs, wineries, and entertainers to celebrate the best the Niagara region has to offer. The event drew a crowd estimated at over 85,000 over three days, well above previous year's totals.

Festival-goers from throughout Niagara and surrounding areas, including Hamilton, the GTA, and Western New York, were treated a variety of sensational samples offered by over 40 food and drink vendors, along with celebrity cooking and BBQ demos, musical entertainment, buskers, and a childrens area. 

Chef Michael Olson: "The 2008 Niagara Food Festival built on last year's momentum for another wildly successful weekend celebrating Niagara's food, wine, and culinary treasures. The weather was perfect for fall, and the crowds responded in huge numbers. It's great to see the Niagara community come together to celebrate its abundance of riches during challenging economic times." 

2008 saw the Niagara Food Festival unveil the new state of the art Kitchenaid Mobile Culinary Theatre, featuring the latest in kitchen appliances and AV equipment for high-impact cooking demos. The Mobile Culinary Theatre featured an all-star line-up of celebrity chefs throughout the weekend, including Food Network celebrities Anna Olson

(Fresh) and Lynn Crawford (Restaurant Makeover), attracting large crowds. Following this weekend, the Festival's Mobile Culinary Theatre will be booked at various events throughout Ontario and Western New York to promote the Niagara Food Festival, and will also be available for rent.

Also new for 2008 was the Experience Niagara Market, a showcase opportunity for over 30 local food producers and farmers to present and sell local foods being grown and produced in Niagara and neighbouring areas. The Niagara Food Festival partnered with the Niagara AgriTourism Centre and the Leadership Niagaras project group Buy Local Niagara in this initiative. Niagara residents were asked to take the $10 Local Food Challenge - where spending at least $10 on local food and produce can add up to provide big benefits to the local economy, and thousands were up to the challenge.

Olson: "The Niagara Food Festival added some new attractions this year, such as the Waterfront Wine and Jazz Terrace, the Experience Niagara Market, and the Mobile Culinary Theatre, but all fit within the focus of the Festival - celebrating Niagara's local food and wine. The weekend provided a great positive vibe for the city of Welland and the entire Niagara region, and we thank all Festival sponsors for their support to help make it happen." 

Niagara Food Festival information will be updated on the website: www.niagarafoodfestival.com

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For more information, contact:
Gord Hunchak
Niagara Food Festival Communications
905-650-7820

Niagara Food Festival announces plans for the “Peninsula’s Tastiest Party” October 3-5, 2008

Welland - The Niagara Food Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary on the weekend of October 3, 4, and 5 in historic downtown Welland, during the city’s 150th birthday year. The annual showcase of all things food and drink in Niagara brings together growers, producers, restaurateurs, chefs, wineries, and entertainers to celebrate the best the Niagara region has to offer. 

The three-day event is expected to draw over 65,000 visitors from throughout Niagara and surrounding areas, including Hamilton, the GTA, and Western New York, to taste a variety of sensational samples offered by over 40 food and drink vendors. 

A community volunteer board, led by renowned chef Michael Olson, will be building on the momentum of a very successful Niagara Food Festival in 2007 to ensure the annual festival remains one of Niagara’s premiere family events. The 2008 Niagara Food Festival will continue its focus on local and regional food, restaurants, and wineries, and will appeal to people of all ages, particularly families. Young’s Insurance of Welland will again be the Festival’s presenting sponsor.

A significant change for 2007 was a move to downtown Welland from Merritt Island. The new downtown location proved to be very popular among festival attendees, and provided better space for vendors, as well as more room for cooking demonstrations, entertainment, and parking, and allowed for full participation by downtown businesses. And while the sun usually shines on festival weekend, the downtown site, set on streets and grounds around Welland’s Civic Centre and the historic Court House, is visitor-friendly and easy to access in any weather.

New for 2008 is the “Experence Niagara Market”, a showcase area for local farmer and food producers to highlight and sell local food products. This is an important opportunity for local food producers and farmers to show the high quality and large variety of local foods being grown and produced in Niagara and neighbouring areas. The Niagara Food Festival has partnered with Leadership Niagara’s project group “Buy Local Niagara” and Niagara AgriTournism Center to bring this important initiative forward for 2008. The Festival hopes that the “Experience Niagara Market” will be a mainstay of the Niagara Food Festival for years to come.

Other new Festival Events will include:

1. Wine & Jazz Terrace
2. Culinary State-of-the Art Mobile Theatre
3. Apple Pie Baking Contest
4. Pizza & Wing Delivery Challenge
5. BBQ Chicken & Chops Chow Down
6. Barbequing with Master Class BBQ Chief
7. Firefighters Chili Cook Off

To continue to guarantee the excellent value festival goers have enjoyed in the past, vendor menus will be priced to ensure items are available for all budgets and appetites. The fine wines of participating Niagara wineries will be featured in the unique Food Festival Wine Bar, in partnership with several local wineries, while festival-goers will also be able to enjoy cold refreshments in the Festival Beer Garden.
The Niagara Food Festival was the recipient of a major funding boost from the Ontario government earlier this year. Through the “Celebrate Ontario 2008” program, the Ministry of Tourism approved the Niagara Food Festival’s funding application and announced $71,771 in funding for the 2008 event to promote the Festival outside of Niagara, including the GTA and Western New York. A significant portion of the funding is being used to construct a state of the art “mobile culinary theatre” for cooking demonstrations. The Mobile Culinary Theatre will be unveiled in September.

The Festival has expanded its growing partnership with Niagara College for 2008. In addition to participation by the College’s renowned Niagara Culinary Institute and the Niagara College Teaching Winery, the College will be using the Niagara Food Festival as a main venue for a major “Niagara College Homecoming Celebration”. Over 40,000 Niagara College alumni and former employees are being invited to the celebration.

A strong line-up of local entertainment acts will be featured on the main Festival Stage, and a Children’s area will entertain young families.

Niagara Food Festival information will be updated on the website: www.niagarafoodfestival.com

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For more information, contact:
Gord Hunchak
Niagara Food Festival Communications
905-650-7820

Experience Niagara in a whole new way... Friday October 3 - Sunday October 5, 2008

Experience Niagara!

Buy Local Niagara, a project team of Leadership Niagara has a simple message and challenge for everyone in Niagara: "Think Fresh, Buy Local and Experience Niagara".

Similar to the very successful 'Earth Hour' - the purpose of this campaign is raise awareness to support local food producers and businesses. To do so, we are hosting a 'Buy Local Niagara' campaign October 3-5, 2008 to challenge Niagara residents to make a difference by spending just $10 or more on Niagara made, grown or produced goods and services and experience Niagara in a whole new way.

We are delighted to be part of the Niagara Food Festival this year as it celebrates it's 15th year. Visit us and support the challenge Oct.

3-5 at Niagara's Food Festival's 'Experience Niagara Market' venue in downtown Welland, or at any local food producer that weekend.

Please visit us at www.buylocalniagara.ca for updates, contact information, or to get involved.

We would like to thank those who continue to support this initiative so far including our employers; Ontario Power Generation, Meridian Credit Union, The Burke Group, Niagara College, Niagara Health & The Raft. We would also like to thank The Niagara Food Festival, Leadership Niagara, Yvettte Plentai of Niagara AgriTourism Center, and especially Ruasma Advertising and Marketing for donating the Buy Local Niagara logo design.

Project Team:
Dan Belford
Monique Charette
Rhonda Chopin
Debbie Crowe
Mike Lethby
Vince Malvaso

Niagara Food Festival receives over $70,000 in funding from Celebrate Ontario 2008

Welland - The Niagara Food Festival, celebrating its 15th year in 2008, is the recipient of a major funding announcement from the Ontario government. Through the “Celebrate Ontario 2008” program, the Ministry of Tourism approved the Niagara Food Festival’s funding application and announced $71,771 in funding for the 2008 event.

“The Niagara Food Festival is thrilled to have our funding application approved,” stated Michael Olson, Niagara Food Festival Chair, “The 2007 Niagara Food Festival was an amazing success, and this funding from the Province will make a significant impact in enhancing the 2008 event, ensuring it will remain one of Niagara’s premiere festivals.”

The Ministry of Tourism’s “Celebrate Ontario 2008” program is providing $10 million in support for festivals and events throughout Ontario. This funding will assist festival organizers enhance their events with new experiences, and attract greater audiences to Ontario. “Celebrate Ontario 2008” was a highly competitive process with 90 projects being funded out of over 460 applications received. Niagara Food Festival’s funding will be directed to festival enhancements and to increase out of region marketing, particularly in Western New York.

Drawing from the Niagara and surrounding areas, last year’s three-day Niagara Food Festival attracted a record crowd of over 65,000 people. Festival attendees enjoyed a delicious variety of food and drink served up by over 40 restaurants, wineries, and food/beverage vendors, which complimented the top rate family and musical entertainment. The new downtown Welland location was a resounding success, showcasing all things food and drink in celebrating the best the Niagara region has to offer.

The 2008 Niagara Food Festival will be held October 3, 4, 5 in Welland. Full festival details will be announced in April.

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For more information, contact:
Gord Hunchak
Niagara Food Festival Communications
905-650-7820

• Festival Hours

• October 1: 5pm - 11pm
• October 2: 11am - 11pm
• October 3: 11am - 5 pm