Latest news with #TourismWindsorEssexPeleeIsland
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Experience Indigenous culture at this 2-day festival in Ontario — Here's how to get tickets and score a free spot on a powwow bus tour
Get a chance to experience Indigenous cultural heritage by watching Indigenous artists, joining a powwow bus tour, discovering First Nation crafts and trying Indigenous cuisine during a two-day cultural event in Windsor-Essex. Caldwell First Nation will be holding its first Competition Powwow from Aug. 9 to 10 at Caldwell First Nation Reserve, located along Mersea Road 1, in Leamington, Ontario. The two-day cultural event will highlight Indigenous dancers, singers, drummers, cuisine and crafts from across Canada and the U.S. 'The powwow allows us to join with other First Nations from across Canada and the United States to share in this great gathering and exciting cultural experience,' the organizers said on the event's page. 'This is more than just a celebration — it's a high-energy, competitive powwow featuring some of the finest dancers and singers in North America.' Over $50,000 in prizes will be given to the best artists who will compete in different categories. There will be plenty of on-site food vendors offering Indigenous cuisines and local favourites as well as local artisans and craft vendors who will offer handmade jewelry and crafts, the organizers shared in a post announcing the event. Tickets to the event are $10 per person. It's free for children under eight years old and people over 60. Caldwell First Nation along with the Windsor Port Authority and Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, will be offering 105 people a free bus tour on the first and second day of the event. 'The tour route will take riders along the Windsor-Essex Shoreline to highlight many hidden and ancient Indigenous sites en route to the Caldwell First Nation Reserve in Leamington,' the organizers shared in a release announcing the tour. The region's shoreline along the Detroit River and Lake Erie is home to many historically significant Indigenous sites. Before European settlers arrived in the region, the land along the Detroit River was known as Wawiiatanong and was home to Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron (Neutral), and Huron (Wyandot) peoples, according to information from the City of Windsor. The tour route will take riders along the Windsor-Essex Shoreline to highlight many hidden and ancient indigenous sites. The tour will pick up passengers from Destination Ontario — Ontario Travel Information Services at 110 Park St. E. in Windsor. The tour will explore Indigenous sites, before heading to Caldwell First Nation Reserve in Leamington for the event. Reservations for the bus tour will be open soon and guests can book a slot on their site . There's free parking on-site for those who bring their own car and won't join the bus tour. Powwow bus tour schedule. The Caldwell First Nation also known as the Chippewas of Point Pelee and Pelee Island is part of the Anishinaabe people and a proud member of the Three Fires Confederacy — Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwa, according to information on the Caldwell Powwow site. The CFN has lived on the lands surrounding Point Pelee in Windsor-Essex way before the European settlers arrived. The CFN fought as allies of the British during the war of 1812 and were promised land in return. 'Despite their service, they were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the 1920s and spent decades without a recognized land base.' The Nation's long-standing land claim was finally settled in 2010 and in November 2020 a 200-acre parcel at Bevel Line Road and Seacliff Drive in Leamington was designated as Reserve Land. After a 230-year long fight the Caldwell First Nation returned home to their ancestral land.
CBC
06-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Trump tariffs could be 'very detrimental' for Windsor-Essex tourism. But also beneficial?
Tourism officials in Windsor-Essex are closely monitoring U.S. President Donald Trump's looming tariffs, which they say "could be very detrimental" for an industry that's still recovering from the pandemic. Gordon Orr, the CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, said while there are suggestions tourism could be impacted positively, "there's no way to put a bow on this pending trade war." Speaking on Windsor Morning, Orr recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism and hospitality industry was the first and hardest hit, and the industry also took the longest to recover. But he said things are different this time around. "With this particular trade war, tourism is not being impacted first. As a matter of fact, we're still playing it out to see how it's going to work — there [are] suggestions that we might get more tourists because of it, coming from the U.S.," Orr said. "But make no mistake, it's hard to see any silver lining to this because a lot of our industry is still trying to regain from the years of COVID, and at the same time, there's a lot of unknowns. "Tourism spending is discretionary, so if these tariffs go into effect, that's going to hit everyone's pocketbook and that's when this discretionary spending tourism gets hurt," Orr added. On Monday Trump dropped his plan to levy tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a series of commitments to improve border security. To get Trump to shelve his punishing tariffs, Trudeau told him Canada is pressing ahead with a previously announced $1.3-billion border security plan that includes reinforcing the 49th parallel with new choppers, technology and personnel and stepping up its co-ordination with American officials to crack down on Trump's stated priorities: illegal drugs and migrants. U.S. market important to tourism in Windsor-Essex Pointing to the importance of the U.S. market to Ontario's tourism sector, Orr said it represents about 22 per cent of visitations. "For Windsor Essex, that's even more — we're at 33 per cent. Our latest statistics are for 2023, we had 5.6 million visitors. Of those 5.6 million visitors, 1.7 million of them were U.S. and 300,000 of those were overnight," Orr said. "So, we're starting to see … the rebound of overnight visitation and we're starting to see more Americans come over. We're about 9 per cent off of pre-COVID numbers by way of visitation. "Spending is higher because of course everything costs more, but at the end of the day, tourism and hospitality help support an industry in Windsor-Essex of over 11,000 people. It's a very important industry and we're wondering how this is all going to play out without question," he added. How tariffs might benefit tourism industry Joanne Wolnik, executive director of the Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation, said a trade war between the two countries could benefit local tourism in a number of ways, including if the Canadian dollar sees a decline in value. "I think of the value of the Canadian dollar and how much further that would go for Americans coming to Canada," Wolnik told CBC News. "When you look at how much further their dollar would go, I think that they can do a lot more, the value proposition is absolutely there. The U.S. dollar will go a lot further here once they convert it to Canadian dollars." Wolnik said Canadians are also less likely to go to the U.S. if their dollar wouldn't be going as far. "I think from that perspective, we'll be losing less travellers to the U.S. and I think we've got more potential to keep them in Canada, specifically across Ontario and Windsor as well," she said. Wolnik is urging people in the tourism industry to "remain positive" and think about the strengths of their destination. "Just remember that we are a very safe, welcoming, strong destination for travellers and we should just keep doing what we do best, which is providing really memorable, good high-quality experiences for people to come and enjoy," she said.
