By Emily Stonehouse

It’s no secret that the security of winters is unstable. 

Climate change is impacting our snowy certainty with a vengeance, and as a result, many of our local businesses have thrown in the towel over the colder months. 

“There’s a seasonality to our businesses,” said Angelica Ingram, the tourism manager for the County of Haliburton. “Even if it’s a good winter, costs are higher, utilities are more expensive. So it becomes a business decision.” 

“I understand why they’re doing it,” echoed Scott Ovell, the director of economic development and tourism for the county, “we haven’t done a deep dive on it yet, but we know last winter was bad.”

Ovell and Ingram intend to roll out a business retention and expansion strategy in the coming year, and instead of working alongside a consultant to crunch the numbers, they intend to get it straight from the source. “We want to talk to businesses and do some one-on-one interviews,” said Ovell. “I am curious to hear what we will get from that.” 

Ovell noted that it wasn’t solely the poor winter weather that impacted the business economy last year, rather, it was “a lot of separate factors coming together,” one of which was the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic-drive closures. 

“We are creating things now that are not weather dependent,” said Ingram. 

One such thing is the recently announced February Folk Fest, taking place across the county. 

The newly cultivated event is “a celebration of live music and community spirit taking place across the Haliburton Highlands this February,” according to an email sent out to community tourism stakeholders. 

“The genesis of [the festival] was from a conversation we had with council last winter,” recalled Ovell. “Council gives us the flexibility to be creative.”

While the county holds the reigns for the annual Hike Haliburton Festival – which has both an early fall and a mid-winter edition – Ovell is cognizant of the fact that the festival takes place over a single weekend each time, And again, if the weather is lousy, the entirety of the event is in jeopardy. “I think we can find ways to provide alternative activities,” he said. “It is our job to focus on getting as many people here as we can.”

Over the years, there have been some misconceptions about community-driven events, with the onus of responsibility being passed between the current tiered political system in place. Hike Haliburton currently stands as the county’s only signature event, therefore holding a permanent place in budget deliberations, but Ovell shared that there is some wiggle room for new initiatives within the destination marketing plan. Sometimes that may come in the form of financial support, and other times, it could be a formalized partnership put in place. “It is our job to work within the townships, and explore those new kinds of concepts,” he noted. 

For the upcoming February Folk Fest, the county is offering a small remuneration to kickstart the initiative amongst local venues. “We are all about partnerships,” noted Ingram. “We’re more than a marketing agency. And if we don’t have the capacity to support someone, we will probably know someone who can.” 

Ingram said that she is optimistic about the coming year, with a series of new ideas in the works, and efforts towards ongoing partnerships with organizations like the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Haliburton County Development Corporation. “We’re here to support every business in town,” she noted, “and if people need help, I always say that you can start with us.” 

The county is currently seeking venues to host live music for February Folk Fest. For more information on how to get involved, contact ecasper@haliburtoncounty.ca.