ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Our hearts are with everyone affected by the tragic events at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and the injuries sustained, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of those affected. Our thoughts are also with everyone in attendance, the festival organizers, volunteers, performers, vendors, and the first responders who responded so quickly and professionally.
Festivals are places where communities come together to celebrate culture, friendship and connection. This tragedy is felt across Ontario's tourism and events community.
On behalf of Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, we stand with the Salsa on St. Clair team and the entire community during this incredibly difficult time.
The episode explores the evolution of Salsa on St. Clair into a multi‑destination tourism platform. Host Andrew Siegwart speaks with Giuseppe Di Tacchio of the Canadian Salsa Festivals Project about the festival’s origins, strategy, and expansion. Giuseppe recounts how the event began in 2005 to help St. Clair retailers recover from TTC construction, quickly growing from a half‑day community initiative into a full weekend and an anchor cultural brand. He explains the move to a not‑for‑profit structure to better align sponsorships and partners, and outlines expansion to Blue Mountain, Mont‑Tremblant and a new Niagara Falls edition designed to boost shoulder‑season visitation.
Andrew and Giuseppe highlight success factors—authentic Hispanic programming, strong media partnerships for promotion, careful timing, and protecting the core free street festival—while acknowledging challenges like long vendor lines, the difficulty of ticketed add‑ons, funding pressures, and the need for municipal and provincial promotion. Giuseppe calls for greater integration of festivals into broader tourism marketing to amplify economic and community benefits, emphasizing partnerships and data‑driven promotion as keys to sustainable growth.
Forward Motion thanks its partners for their support of this show:
Ontario Travel & Tourism Monthly
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