Sault's 2018 WTF Festival Wins Provincial Award
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SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO - March 1, 2019 (LSN) We have some news to share, and it’s Wonderfully Terrifically Fantastic! Last year’s WTF Festival in Sault Ste. Marie was recognized this week by Festivals & Events Ontario. The inaugural event, which was held in June at various local venues, was named Best New Festival for 2018.
The WTF Festival – a.k.a. Way Too Funny, a.k.a. Warning: Too Funny – was developed by Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, a division of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation. The organization’s goal was to establish a major event to attract visitors between the end of the Searchmont ski season and the start of the busy Agawa Canyon Tour Train season.
“We reached our visitor-attraction goal, and it’s great to now see our WTF Festival recognized on the provincial stage,” said Alana Kenopic, Manager of Sport Tourism & Special Events for the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation. “I thank the 2018 WTF organizing committee – in particular, Tim Progosh and Tim Murphy – for all their work. I also thank our funding partners: the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Destination Northern Ontario and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund.”
The 2018 WTF Festival featured a Russell Peters headline comedy show, Dave Broadfoot Awards, variety show, Murder on the Agawa Express comedy murder mystery, late-night shows and a laughter yoga session. Total attendance at all the events combined was 3,735. The festival attracted just under 500 visitors from across Ontario and the United States, which generated more than $84,000 of direct visitor spending for the local economy, along with thousands of more dollars in spinoff and indirect commercial activity.
PHOTO: John Catucci and David Mesiano, from the musical comedy duo The Doo Wops, perform at the sold-out 2018 WTF Variety Show, which was held at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.
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