DOWNTOWN ORILLIA 2018 BIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS SUBMISSION PILLAR: MARKETING & PROMOTIONS SPECIAL EVENTS & PROMOTIONS SMALL

Transcription

1 DOWNTOWN ORILLIA 2018 BIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS SUBMISSION PILLAR: MARKETING & PROMOTIONS SPECIAL EVENTS & PROMOTIONS SMALL

2 DOWNTOWN ORILLIA S FARM TO TABLE DINNER

3 Downtown Orillia hosted a Farm to Table Dinner in the downtown core for 100 dinner guests to celebrate Orillia & Canada s 150th Anniversary. The event was the first of its kind and boasted local fare prepared by six downtown restaurants and cafes along with wine & beer pairings offered by an Ontario winery & brewery. Guests enjoyed the ambience of the downtown while the sun set, listened to light music & watched the treetops glisten all while enjoying a delicious, elegant five course dinner. To conclude the evening, numerous gifts were presented to all guests which were graciously donated by downtown merchants. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

4 PURPOSE CELEBRATION OF OUR 150 TH To celebrate Orillia & Canada s 150th anniversary while attracting and introducing locals and visitors to Downtown Orillia. To promote Downtown restaurants and Orillia & area producers while featuring locally produced food.

5 FUNDING ATTAINED Downtown Orillia Farm to Table Dinner funding was provided by the following sources: Casino Rama Cares Partnership Funding = $500 Foodland Partnership Funding = $900 RT07 Experience Funding = $500 Complete Rental Sponsorship = $450 Total Funding Attained = $ Tickets were sold at $100/ticket = $10,000

6 IMPACT OF THE FARM TO TABLE DINNER The feasibility of this idea was determined through much market research conducted by staff. Social media posts promoting the idea reached 13,012 people, received 675 likes, 137 positive comments of shares indicating that there was a large amount of interest and demand. There were also numerous requests from local farmers, not for profit organizations, restaurants & for profit organizations asking to partner on such an event prior to and after the event occurred. Of the 100 guests, 27 of the guests were from Toronto, Bradford, Kingston, Mississauga, Stouffville, Barrie, Elliott Lake, Beaverton & Kirkfield achieving our goal of bringing tourists into our downtown. The Farm to Table Dinner made front page news in our local newspaper which created positive publicity for our downtown and hype for a future dinner. Such positive feedback was received that a waitlist incurred for Restaurants received positive recognition and feedback following the dinner.

7 A GLIMPSE INTO THE EVENING

8 PARTICIPANTS & PARTNERS Downtown restaurants & cafes involved: Rustica Pizza Vino Shine Juice Bar & Café Tre Sorelle Era 67 Restaurant & Lounge Brewery Bay Food Co. Patilero Mariposa Market Apple Annies Café & Shop Other downtown partners & sponsors involved: Orillia Opera House, Lake of Bays Brewery, Pelee Island Winery, Town s Jewellery, Starry Night Studio & Gallery Tour, Orillia Public Library, CC Fashions, Mariposa Market, Long Way Home, Sinergy Clothing, Nourish Yoga & Wellness Studio & The Water Store. Local producers and farms involved: The Kitchen Garden Farm, Hewitts Farm-Market, Just say Cheese, Wildflower Farm, McBrides Organic Farm, Jordan Orchard Peach Farm & Kimberly's Organic Sprouts.

9 INNOVATION & VISION The vision for the Farm to Table demonstrates creative thinking on the part of the DMB & its partners as it is the first of its kind in Downtown Orillia and in The City of Orillia. The dinner presentation was a one-of-a-kind of event that drew both locals and tourists to our downtown. The dinner incorporated numerous downtown & city-wide partners. The vision of the dinner was to showcase the talented chefs in our downtown while presenting delicious food paired with wine in a visually appealing manner in the middle of the main street. The dinner built capacity for local food within our region by building new relationships and strengthening existing relationships between local producers and farmers with downtown restaurants. It also brought downtown restauranteurs together with local farmers so that downtown chefs could create delicious food that integrated the local harvest, which helped to build capacity of local and organic food in the region.

10 REPRESENTATION & REPLICATION A Farm to Table Dinner is a great way to introduce new visitors as well as, locals into your downtown while highlighting new and existing partnerships between local farmers, producers and downtown restaurants. It features and promotes your talented restaurants and in turn, their delicious, local and organic food that is offered on a regular basis in their restaurants. It also raises awareness of what local, sustainable, organic food is and that it is easily accessible through local farmers in your area. A Farm to Table Dinner be replicated in other communities very easily with organization, eager downtown restauranteurs, sponsorship and engaged community partners. Steps toward implementing a Farm to Table Dinner in your downtown include: Starting a conversation with your BIA members; Seeking out grants that promote special events & marketing; Locating a flat area in your downtown that could be used to hold a dinner for 80 + dinner guests; Bringing the idea to the board table; and Getting your community involved in the dinner by publicizing the idea

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12 OUTCOME & CONCLUSION The Downtown Farm to Table Dinner brought together local organizations, farmers and producers with downtown restauranteurs to create a beautiful evening of local, sustainable, organic food for 100 locals and tourists. The dinner highlighted the multitude of talented chefs located in our downtown all year long and created a one-of-a-kind promotional opportunity for our restauranteurs to display their talents in a different way. The dinner built and fostered relationships with local businesses and downtown restaurants that will help when planning future dinners or events. It also created a close knit committee that we can rely on when planning and implementing ideas and events in future years. Positive feedback from the public, downtown merchants and the general public was outstanding. The dinner will serve as a reminder of our 150 celebrations in Downtown Orillia.