Brockville, Ontario

Nearly 2,000 cyclists returned to St. Lawrence College after a week-long, 600km tour that began and ended in Brockville. The Velo Quebec tour, typically held in the province of Quebec, took place entirely in Ontario for the first time in its 18 year history.

Brockville was chosen as the start and end point for the tour, which brought 1950 cyclists and over 200 family members to the area, with many staying several days before and after the tour was completed. “Many of the cyclists came a few days early to enjoy the river and the area,” said Executive Director Joelle Sevigny. “This is such a beautiful city and we chose Brockville because of its attractions.”

The tour was a major tourism event for Brockville. Over 2,000 participants filled the hotels, restaurants and stores during their stay. Coupled with Ribfest and the Poker Run, the weekend had a great impact on the city’s economy.

Brockville is quickly becoming a cyclist destination with the Ride for Aids, Great Waterfront Tour and several other cycling events that have visited the city. “Brockville was recommended by the Great Waterfront Tour to Velo Quebec,” said Tourism Director Kim Barr, adding that the city is quickly building a name cycling and other tourism events. Brockville Tourism was on hand during the final day with a booth to give the cyclist information about the city and everything it has to offer.

The Volunteer Bureau helped facilitate the event, bringing in over 90 volunteers to help out with many tasks. “It’s incredible to see how willing Brockville is to offer volunteers for tourism events,” said Volunteer Bureau Director Frank Rockett.

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Record-setting numbers at Ribfest

Wednesday, 10 August 2021 14:19

By Austin de Luis – Observer Editor

Brockville saw its most successful tourism event in decades this weekend with the 11th annual Ribfest bringing in almost 60,000 people through the gates over the four-day festival.

Each and every day saw record-setting numbers. Aided by perfect weather the festival opened four hours early after eager rib fans began pouring into the park shortly after noon on Thursday. “It was incredible to see the park filling up shortly after lunch on opening day,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director Jane Fullarton, adding that formally opening the festival earlier on Thursday will be considered for next year.

The overall fundraising totals are still being tallied and will available later this week. The festival has grown each and every year, starting with roughly 10,000 festival participants for the inaugural event and growing to the record numbers from this past weekend. “It was really exciting to see the people coming down in such big numbers,” said Fullarton. “This was a win, win, win for the agency and everyone involved.”

One ribber had to reorder additional product more than once to help keep up with demand. “The vendors know the success of past years and the fact that they had to reorder product more than once shows the growth of the event this year,” said Fullarton.

With the sheer number of volunteers and staff required to run a festival of this magnitude, Fullarton was almost at a loss to come up with the words to thank all those involved. “Thank you just seems inadequate for what I want to say to our staff and volunteers,” said Fullarton. “We would be lost without the amazing support we get from the community.

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