Eight Stories. One Remarkable Tourism Region.
Celebrating the people, organizations and ideas shaping the future of tourism
The best way to tell the story of this part of Ontario is to celebrate the people who are doing extraordinary work within it.
For the 2026 Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence, Explorers’ Edge is proud to put forward eight nominations representing tourism leaders, community organizations, cultural experiences, events and collaborations from across our geography.
Presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario and its partners, the awards recognize the people and organizations making outstanding contributions to Ontario’s tourism industry – from innovation, sustainability and workforce development to culture, inclusion and memorable visitor experiences.
Our role is not to place ourselves at the centre of these stories. It is to recognize the people around us, help amplify their accomplishments and ensure their work is seen beyond the communities where it began.
Together, these eight nominations reflect the breadth of the Explorers’ Edge tourism region and the values our organization stands for: authentic experiences, strong communities, Indigenous cultural leadership, environmental stewardship, inclusion, collaboration, rural innovation and the development of the next generation of tourism leaders.
Nokomis in Residence
Indigenous knowledge, culture and connection in Georgian Bay Islands National Park
The Nokomis in Residence program creates opportunities for visitors to learn directly from Indigenous women knowledge keepers through storytelling, cultural teachings, traditional skills and meaningful personal connection.
Delivered within Georgian Bay Islands National Park, the program demonstrates the power of Indigenous-led tourism experiences grounded in authenticity, cultural integrity and community relationships. It offers visitors more than an activity—it creates space for listening, learning and a deeper understanding of Indigenous histories, knowledge and living cultures.
The nomination recognizes Parks Canada and the Indigenous knowledge keepers who have helped build an experience that is memorable, respectful and rooted in place.
Watch the Nokomis in Residence story
Witches Walk
When an entire community becomes part of the experience
Witches Walk transforms downtown Parry Sound into an imaginative autumn gathering filled with costumes, creativity, local businesses and community spirit.
What began as a seasonal event has grown into a signature experience that brings residents and visitors together while generating meaningful activity for downtown merchants during the fall shoulder season. Businesses do not simply operate alongside the event—they become part of its character and success.
The nomination celebrates an event built through collaboration, volunteerism and the willingness of a community to embrace an idea and make it entirely its own.
Watch the Witches Walk story
Bala Bay Inn
Creating space for visibility, celebration and belonging
Under the leadership of Kieren Day, the historic Bala Bay Inn has emerged as an important gathering place for 2SLGBTQIA+ celebration and cultural expression in rural Muskoka.
Through drag performances and inclusive programming, the Bala Bay Inn has demonstrated how a tourism business can use its venue, voice and influence to create a more welcoming community. These events have provided opportunities for people to gather openly, celebrate identity and see themselves reflected in a part of Ontario where inclusive spaces can be less visible.
The work has also helped inspire broader regional conversations, including Explorers’ Edge’s Diva Dialogues initiative, about belonging, representation and the role tourism leaders can play in strengthening rural communities.
This nomination recognizes the courage to lead visibly and the lasting impact one operator can have well beyond the walls of their business.
Watch the Bala Bay Inn story
Brooklands Farm
A family farm sharing the flavours and stories of Muskoka
Brooklands Farm connects visitors with Muskoka’s agricultural heritage through authentic food, farm-based experiences and a strong sense of place.
Its work demonstrates that agritourism is about more than what is grown or produced. It is about inviting people onto the land, sharing the stories behind local food and helping visitors understand the families, traditions and working landscapes that contribute to the identity of a destination.
Through thoughtful experiences and a commitment to local production, Brooklands Farm strengthens the connection between tourism, agriculture and community while contributing to Muskoka’s reputation as a destination for distinctive Ontario food experiences.
Watch the Brooklands Farm story
Friends of the Muskoka Watershed
Turning environmental action into a shared community responsibility
The health of Muskoka’s watershed is inseparable from the future of its communities, tourism economy and visitor experiences.
Friends of the Muskoka Watershed brings together science, education, volunteer participation and practical environmental action. Its work helps residents, businesses and visitors better understand the pressures facing the watershed and the role everyone can play in protecting it.
By translating complex environmental challenges into tangible community initiatives, the organization is advancing a model of sustainability that is local, collaborative and achievable.
This nomination recognizes the organization’s contribution to protecting the natural landscapes and waterways that define Muskoka—and to ensuring they can continue to be experienced by generations to come.
Watch the Friends of the Muskoka Watershed story
Almaguin Summer Star Party
Looking to the night sky to build a new rural tourism experience
The Almaguin Summer Star Party demonstrates how community collaboration and the natural assets of a rural destination can be transformed into a compelling visitor experience.
Built around the Almaguin Highlands’ dark skies, the event combines astronomy, education, outdoor experiences, local hospitality and community programming. It invites visitors to slow down, look upward and experience the region from an entirely different perspective.
The Star Party also represents thoughtful destination development in action. It creates a reason to travel, connects participating operators and community partners, introduces visitors to lesser-known parts of Ontario and builds tourism activity around an asset that already belongs to the place.
This nomination celebrates rural creativity, regional collaboration and the development of a distinctive experience with room to grow.
Watch the Almaguin Summer Star Party story
Lakehead University and Parks Canada Tourism SHSM Program
Building a pathway from the classroom to a career in tourism
The Tourism Specialist High Skills Major Reach Ahead and Sector Partner Experience connects secondary school students with post-secondary education, national historic sites and real-world tourism career opportunities.
Developed through collaboration involving Lakehead University, Parks Canada, Bethune Memorial House, participating schools and community partners, the program gives students the opportunity to explore tourism through interactive learning, site visits, industry challenges and direct exposure to the many careers that support the visitor economy.
Delivered with students from Bracebridge and Huntsville, the initiative responds to a critical workforce need while helping young people understand that tourism can offer meaningful, skilled and diverse career pathways close to home.
At a pivotal time for tourism and hospitality education in Ontario, this partnership demonstrates what is possible when educators, public institutions, municipalities and the tourism industry work together.
The nomination recognizes a collaborative model that invests not only in today’s students, but in the future of Ontario tourism.
Watch the Lakehead and Parks Canada story
Rebecca Francis
Helping tourism businesses turn sustainability into meaningful action
Rebecca Francis has played a leading role in making sustainability practical, understandable and achievable for tourism operators across the Explorers’ Edge geography.
Through operator outreach, educational programming, storytelling, funding development and the growth of the regional GreenStep tourism cohort, Rebecca has helped businesses move beyond conversations about sustainability and begin taking measurable action.
Her work has included the Creating Positive Impact: Learning Series for Tourism Providers, which attracted more than 100 participants and generated more than 4,500 webpage views. Individual operator stories—including a feature on Muskoka Beer Spa—have helped demonstrate how local businesses are adopting sustainable practices in ways that are both achievable and economically relevant.
Rebecca has also supported the development of a growing GreenStep group that now includes 14 tourism properties, profiled the environmental leadership of regional operators and contributed to the preparation of new funding opportunities, including work connected to the Ontario Community Environment Fund.
Her nomination recognizes the impact of a leader who has helped create momentum, build operator confidence and position sustainability as an essential part of long-term tourism development.
Watch Rebecca’s story
This Is What Our Region Stands For
These nominations cross communities, sectors and generations.
They include Indigenous cultural experiences on Georgian Bay, an inclusive historic inn in Bala, a signature downtown event in Parry Sound, a working Muskoka farm, watershed stewardship, dark-sky tourism in the Almaguin Highlands, a workforce partnership connecting students to tourism careers, and an individual helping operators build a more sustainable future.
Some are established organizations. Others are emerging experiences. Some protect the landscapes visitors come to see, while others create new reasons for people to visit, stay, learn and return.
Together, they demonstrate that destination development is not a single project or marketing campaign. It is the collective work of people who care deeply about their communities and are prepared to lead.
Explorers’ Edge is proud to celebrate these eight nominees and to help share their stories across Ontario.
Because when the people around us succeed, the entire destination becomes stronger.
