Vintage markets, a local dessert festival, and more are on the Downtown Orillia Management Board (DOMB) agenda this year.
In total, DOMB is organizing 18 events in 2023, triple its 2022 offerings, with the hope of bringing a wide variety of residents and visitors downtown throughout the year.
The board has received city approval for downtown road closures on three of its events so far, with others to be considered at a later date, which include the following:
- Vintage Market, taking place May 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring vendors with vintage products and music;
- Celebrate You, taking place June 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., celebrating individuality, diversity, and culture, with artists, music, family activities, and ‘inclusive’ market;
- Sweet Summer, taking place June 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring downtown bakeries, a baking competition and music
Some of the board’s other plans this year include a fantasy fiction fest with fan art, book, and cosplay contests, two Cinema in the Courtyard nights, among others.
DOMB manager Dina Hawker said this year’s slate of events, which begin this spring and run right through December, are specifically designed to bring diverse crowds of people to Orillia’s downtown.
“I saw a lot of the downtown and loved it, and the unique mix of retail, restaurants, bakers, and everything that we had, and I thought the (previous) events were great with what they were, but I really wanted to highlight every part of downtown,” Hawker told OrilliaMatters.
Many events are meant to celebrate the downtown’s diverse businesses as well, Hawker said, noting how the Sweet Summer event, as an example, will help highlight the “creativity” of the city’s bakers.
“It's a really great way … to see which ones the public really likes … and they all connect back to a lot of the retail stores and businesses and restaurants that we have down here, so everything we made was kind of in an effort to highlight what we have downtown and show people how diverse the downtown is,” she said.
Hawker said some of this year’s events will be done in partnership with local organizations, and many events require smaller road closures, or none at all, compared to some of DOMB’s previous offerings.
“We've really started working a lot more with the (Orillia and District Chamber of Commerce) and the (Orillia Public Library) to be able to expand our reach and also (help) promote each other and support each other,” she said.
“Our events too, that are closures, we were basically able to make a lot of small events … while still allowing for a lot of parking, and other businesses to still kind of operate (as usual).”
Some events are designed specifically with families in mind, Hawker said, such as the pictures with Santa Claus event in December, which is organized with the library to provide free activities for families.
“When it's free, it allows them to come down here and just enjoy the day without any extra pressures,” she said.
More about DOMB's 2023 events may be found here.
