Canal Days continuing to grow

ALLAN BENNER

POSTMEDIA NETWORK

While many community events eventually lose their appeal, the Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival is still growing by leaps and bounds.

CityofPortColborneeventco-ordinator Gina Murdoch said a new economic impact study being released later this week shows attendance at the 38-year-old festival grew by more than 100,000 people from 2011 to 2015.

The study conducted by Torontobased Enigma Research found that 410,000 people visited Port Colborne during the four-day festival last summer.

That number includes return visits during the four-day event, for a total of 228,000 unique visitors.

Those visitors spent $6.3 million while they were in the city.

In comparison, an economic impact study Enigma conducted in 2011 said about 300,000 people visited the festival that year, including 158,000 unique visitors who spent about $3.2 million during their visit.

The study also showed an increas- ing number of visitors from out of the area.

Last year, 73,000 visitors travelled more than 40 kilometres to participate, compared to 52,000 from out of the area who attended the 2011 festival.

Murdoch said the study results “wereverygood,”addingtheinformation “really helps us” when it comes to planning future events. “We’re growing,” she said. She attributed the interest in the event to a focus on giving the people what they want.

“We really do listen to what the people want and are looking for,” Murdoch said.

The city surveys Canal Days visitors every year, and uses that information to make the next festival even better.

“This marine,” she said. “We’re bringing in Bass Pro for a live fishing demonstration, we’re bringing in a sailing simulator, a fishing simulator, we’re doing more marine navigation things and we’re looking to bring in different types of boats.”

For instance, while the Empire Sandy has been a longtime favourite at Canal Days, “now we’re bringing in the Hamilton Harbour Queen, antique boats and different marine themes to keep people interested.”

She did, however, suggest newcomers to the festival start off on West Street visiting vendors and tall ships moored along the canal.

From there, she advised catching a ride on the “shuttle and stop at all the locations.”

A full list of those locations is online at http://portcolborne.ca/page/ canal_days.