FEO 2026 Award Winners and Top 100
Best New Festival or Event
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Whitby Home Sweet Home Festival
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Oshawa Convergence Music and Art Festival
Best Promotional Campaign
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Goderich Salt and Harvest Festival
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Western Fair London
Operating Budget of $500,000 or more – Port Colborne Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival
Best Festival or Event Series (new category)
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Pelham Summer Chill Series
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Newmarket Music Series
Operating Budget of $500,000 or more – Niagara Grape and Wine Festival
Best Social Media Campaign (tie)
Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show
Western Fair London
FEO Impact Award
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Hike Haliburton
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Festival
FEO Innovation Award
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Barrie Family Fright Fest
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Scarehouse Windsor
Operating Budget of $500,000 or more – Because Beer Craft Beer Festival
FEO Sustainability Award
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Peterborough Folk Festival
Operating Budget of $500,000 or more – Hillside Festival Guelph
Sponsor of the Year
Operating Budget of $100,000 or less – Oshawa Events in the Park sponsored by: TD Bank
Operating Budget of $100,000 to $500,000 – Vaughan International Film Festival sponsored by: QuadReal Property Group
Operating Budget of $500,000 or more – Thunder Bay Event Series sponsored by: Ontario Power Generation
Best Volunteer Program
Toronto International Film Festival
Municipality of the Year
Population less than 50,000
City of Port Colborne
Population more than 50,000 and less than 150,000
Town of Newmarket
Population of 150,000 or more
City of Kitchener
FEO Hall of Fame Inductees
Tina Myers – Niagara Grape and Wine Festival
Antonio Ienco – Vaughan International Film Festival
Patti Jannetta-Baker – SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival
Family Volunteer of the Year
Easson Family – Caledonia Fair
Volunteer of the Year
Sandy Robertson – Westben Summer Festival
Student Leadership Award
Kennedy Stock – Port Colborne Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival
2026 Top 100 Ontario Festivals & Events:
RTO 1 - SOUTHWEST ONTARIO TOURISM REGION
Amherstburg River Lights Winter Festival
Amherstburg Uncommon Festival
Bright Lights Windsor
Caledonia Fair
Chatham Crowfest
Eat and Drink Norfolk
Essex Fun Fest
LaSalle Strawberry Festival
Norfolk County Fair & Horse Show
Thamesville Threshing Festival
Western Fair
RTO 2 - NIAGARA FALLS AND WINE COUNTRY TOURISM REGION
Balls Falls Thanksgiving Festival
Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights
Niagara Grape and Wine Festival
Pelham Summerfest
Pelham Summer Chill Series
Port Colborne Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival
Welland Concerts on the Canal
RTO 3 - HAMILTON, HALTON AND BRANT TOURISM REGION
Because Beer
Festival of Friends
Fresh Up Festival Hamilton
Paris Fair
Re-Enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek
St. George AppleFest
Supercrawl
Winona Peach Festival
RTO 4 - HURON, PERTH, WATERLOO AND WELLINGTON TOURISM REGION
Erin Fall Fair
Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games
Goderich Salt and Harvest Festival
Hillside Festival Guelph
Kitchener Christkindl Market
Kitchener Kidspark
Kitchener Ribfest and Craft Beer Show
Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Festival
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest
Hayloft Music Festival
Meadows Music Festival
Sunlife Waterloo Busker Carnival
RTO 5 - GREATER TORONTO AREA TOURISM REGION
Brampton Kitefest
Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)
Celebrate Toronto
Festival of South Asia
Mississauga Italfest
PanAmerican Food and Music Festival
SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival
Southside Shuffle Blues & Jazz Festival
Salsa in Toronto Festival
The Cabbagetown Festival
Toronto Outdoor Art Fair
Toronto Summer Music
Toronto Waterfront Festival
Yorkville Exotic Car Show
RTO 6 - YORK, DURHAM AND HILLS OF HEADWATERS TOURISM REGION
Aurora’s Christmas Market
Aurora's Haunted Forest
Georgina SnoFest
Markham Jazzlicious
Markham-Milliken Children’s Festival
Markham Olympic and Paralympic Celebration
Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival
Oshawa Convergence Music and Art Festival
Oshawa Halloween Boo Bash
Oshawa Indigenous Cultural Celebration
Oshawa Peony Festival
Richmond Hill Retro Ribfest
Stouffville Main Street 5K
Vaughan Culture Days
Vaughan International Film Festival
Vaughan Winterfest
Whitby Brooklin Harvest Festival
Whitchurch-Stouffville Strawberry Festival
RTO 7 - BRUCE PENINSULA, SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY AND LAKE SIMCOE TOURISM REGION
Barrie Airshow
Barrie Troubadour Festival Series
Carrot Fest Bradford West Gwillimbury
Clearview Small Halls Festival
Kempenfest
Kincardine Lighthouse Blues Festival
Lucknow’s Music in the Fields
Ontario's Best Butter Tart Festival Midland
Salsa at Blue Mountain
Wasaga Beach Memories of Summer
Wiarton Willie Festival
RTO 8 - KAWARTHA AND NORTHUMBERLAND TOURISM REGION
Brighton Applefest
Buckhorn Festival of the Arts
Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour
Peterborough Musicfest
Port Hope Arts Festival
Port Hope Candlelight Festival
Westben Summer Festival
RTO 9 - SOUTHEASTERN ONTARIO TOURISM REGION
Fort Henry Fort Fright
Kingstonlicious
Quinte West presents Medieval Madness
St. Lawrence Parks Alight at Night
St. Lawrence Parks Pumpkinferno
RTO 11 - HALIBURTON HIGHLANDS TO THE OTTAWA VALLEY TOURISM REGION
Hike Haliburton Festival
Tweed & Company Theatre Season
RTO 13 - NORTHERN ONTARIO TOURISM REGION
Fort William Historical Park – Halloween Hoot
Fort William Historical Park – The Great Rendezvous
Sioux Lookout Blueberry Festival
Thunder Bay Kite Festival
Thunder Bay SnowDay on the Waterfront