By Shawn Jeffords, www.theobserver.ca The Observer
It used to be Sarnia’s little rock show by the bay. Now it’s been recognized as an award-wining music festival.
Now Bayfest took home the top prize Wednesday night at the 2009 Ontario Tourism Summit at Ceaser’s Windsor. The annual summer music festival captured the Best Business/Event of the Year Award. Festival co-creator Michele Stokley said she is ecstatic. “We watched all these other big cities like Toronto and Ottawa win everything else and then it came to the largest award and we won it,” she said.
The award, created by the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, recognizes a business or event that effectively promoted and enhanced tourism in Ontario.
Bayfest was shortlisted for the award along side Ottawa Junior Hockey. For Stokley, it’s an affirmation that the risk she and her late husband Jim took when they started the festival was all worth it.
“We started with no contingency plan,” she said. “We were happy to get have 7,500 people come over two days. Now it’s grown to the point were we can double the population of the city.”
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