Money to Halifax for Events

NS: Events Nova Scotia aims for bigger tourism impact
By Paul McLeod, Metro Halifax

Source: Metro Halifax, March 9, 2010

[HALIFAX, NS] — Events Halifax has now been replaced with the bigger, and hopefully better, Events Nova Scotia.

Both the province and federal government via the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency kicked in $300,000 in the hopes the new agency can bring in more big-ticket events to the province.


Grant MacDonald, director of major events and community partnerships for Events Nova Scotia, speaks at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront hotel yesterday. — Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax photo

“Events Halifax obviously did have a focus and an emphasis on HRM,” said Grant MacDonald, director of major events and community partnerships with the new organization. “This will enable us to have a much wider footprint, which will allow us to share information, share resources and partner community to community.”

That could mean more areas joining together to co-host events, according to MacDonald. While he couldn’t predict how many yearly marquee events could be coming to Nova Scotia, he said the new World Trade and Convention Centre planned for downtown Halifax will have a big impact.

As an example, MacDonald said the approximately 1,700-capacity Brier Patch at the Tim Hortons Brier currently being held at the Metro Centre would be “much larger” if the trade centre existed today.

Events Nova Scotia also marks a new, more government-integrated approach to tourism marketing. Events Halifax was a business unit of Trade Centre Limited and operated out of the revenue from events. Now Trade Centre Limited is the service provider who will be running the new agency.