Latest news with #ElevateFestival
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Elevate Welcomes Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac to Advisory Board
Acclaimed entrepreneur and tech trailblazer join the team shaping Canada's leading innovation events TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / June 18, 2025 / Elevate, the non-profit organization behind Canada's most influential tech and innovation festival, is pleased to announce that Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac have joined its Advisory Board. Dickinson, Founder of District Ventures Capital and a longtime Dragon, is one of Canada's most respected entrepreneurs. Mac is a tech and media trailblazer, President of award-winning content development agency AmberMac Media. Elevate CEO and Co-Founder, Lisa Zarzenczny, welcomes these powerhouse leaders as the organization gears up for its seventh annual Elevate Festival (October 7-9, 2025) in Toronto, which will bring together over 250 speakers and 10,000 attendees from across the global tech community. This year's Main Stage will touch on applied AI to revolutionize customer experiences, autonomous transportation, and personalized health insights, among many other content themes and program offerings. The Festival has a track record of catalyzing hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup investments and leads in the industry in gender diversity. The organization also hosts CIX Summit and year-round Elevate Innovation programs to help Canadian founders build their businesses. "I've spent my life in venture capital and marketing helping entrepreneurs and organizations grow their businesses and their dreams," said Arlene Dickinson. "It's never been more important to support Canadian innovation and invest in our collective future. I'm happy to join Elevate to help advance this mission." "Elevate has made a significant impact in growing the local innovation ecosystem, and I'm proud to help them accelerate their next chapter," said Amber Mac. "Canada is emerging as an AI superpower but we need to work together to achieve a better digital future for all." Dickinson and Mac join current board members: Christopher Wein, Chief Operating Officer, Equiton Development;Debbie Gamble, Group Head, Strategy & Marketing, Interac;Gianluca Cairo, VP, Operations & Strategy, Ceridian;James Hicks, President & CEO, Moneris;Lisa Zarzeczny, Co-Founder & CEO, Elevate;Rizwan Khalfan, EVP, Canadian Personal Banking Digital, TD;Salim Teja, Partner, Radical Ventures. About Arlene Dickinson Arlene Dickinson is the Founder and General Partner of District Ventures Capital, a VC fund investing in innovative companies that are transforming the way we live and eat. She is widely recognized for her role as a Venture Capitalist on Dragons' Den, where she has starred for over 17 seasons, and is a three-time bestselling author. About Amber Mac Amber Mac is President of AmberMac Media, Inc., an award-winning content development agency, and host of The AmberMac Show podcast on SiriusXM. She was named one of DMZ's Women of the Year in 2024 and is a bestselling author of multiple books including the Amazon bestseller, Outsmarting Your Kids Online. About Elevate Elevate is a Canadian non-profit that unites world-class innovators to catalyze transformation in the Canadian tech ecosystem. Through year-round programs and events, including the annual Elevate Festival and CIX Summit, Elevate shines a spotlight on Canadian innovation, facilitates global connections with startups and investors, and inspires Canadians to embrace a go-for-gold mentality to help shape the future of the Canadian innovation economy. Media Contact:Amanda Connon-UndaSenior Director of Marketing, Elevateamanda@ SOURCE: Elevate
ABC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Hot air balloons draw tourists to Northam in winter
Colour and light filled the skies in Northam during Western Australia's long weekend as the Wheatbelt town marketed itself as the "ballooning capital of Australia". Hundreds woke up to foggy skies in the Avon Valley, 100 kilometres east of Perth, to admire the hot air balloons over three mornings, before 8,000 visitors flocked to see the balloons light up at night, in time to rock tunes, for the Elevate Festival. A major drawcard of the Northam long weekend line-up was the inflation of the Skywhale and Skywhalepapa hot air balloons that were designed and made by Patricia Piccinini. Piccinini's artworks are travelling around the country with Northam one of six national showings. For a hot air balloon to take flight, on-ground wind speeds must not exceed 10 kilometres per hour, and the Avon Valley largely protects the area from such wind speeds. Unfortunately, due to unfavourable weather conditions, Piccinini's balloons were unable to take flight over Northam, instead tethering and putting on a show from the ground. Shire of Northam president Chris Antonio said the town's ability to embrace the cool conditions of the Avon Valley that were ideal for hot air ballooning, and turn them into a thriving tourist economy, was vital to the growth of the region. "Leveraging our unique climate and tying it in with ballooning is more important than I probably even realised," he said. "Traditionally in WA, tourism booms through the sunny months of the year, but we've been able to make tourism work in the peak of winter — that's our busiest time of year. "We are able to position ourselves as the ballooning capital of Australia." Mr Antonio said the town, which traditionally operated as a service town for smaller Wheatbelt communities, had previously struggled to establish a strong brand with tourists, but through hot air ballooning had become competitive with other tourism regions of the state. "But when winter comes, we have the flowing Avon River and the hot air balloons. "You can't do that in other places. That is our point of difference." Speaking at the Wheatbelt Futures Forum in Northam in May, North Eastern Wheatbelt TRAVEL's Linda Vernon said there was limited data on tourism in the region as a whole, with more focus on areas such as the South West. Despite limited data, she said there had been growth in visitor numbers to the Wheatbelt over the past decade that indicated an appetite for going inland. "The tourism space in the Wheatbelt is still immature and emerging," she said. Ms Vernon said feedback from tourists indicated that drawcards were niche events allowing visitors to connect with residents.
