July 25, 2025
The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is proud to be undertaking a review of its special event permitting process to better support community events and the organizations that plan, organize, and bring them to life. Special events play a vital role in shaping the community’s identity, enriching culture, boosting tourism, fostering local pride, and driving economic development. Community members are encouraged to provide input by completing the survey!
Project Background
To ensure the Town’s process continues to support meaningful events while balancing community needs, Council approved a motion in November 2024 directing Staff to retain consulting services to complete a full special events review. This includes the development of a new Special Events Policy and associated by-law.
Project Overview
The Town has engaged StrategyCorp as the consultant for this project and is moving forward with the Special Events Review, which includes:
- A review of events on public and private lands
- A review of internal processes and approvals
- A Special Events Principles Document to guide future policy and by-law development
- Broad stakeholder engagement, including interviews, focus groups, surveys, workshops, and interactive sessions to help shape the recommendations
- A fee structure review with cost recovery recommendations
Take the Surveys
The Town, in collaboration with StrategyCorp, invites community members and special event organizers to complete one of two surveys to share their feedback on the benefits and challenges of special events, help assess public awareness and satisfaction with how events hosted in the Town are managed, understand community expectations, and provide input on potential areas for improvement.
Survey details are below:
- Visit the Project Page
- Take the Community Survey
- Take the Special Event Organizer Survey
- Completion Date: By Friday, August 15, 2025
- Registration: Not required. The surveys are open to everyone.
The Town looks forward to working with StrategyCorp and engaging with community members in this important process!
Quotes
“Special events bring Niagara-on-the-Lake together, showcase our community spirit, and support our economy. This review is about ensuring events continue to thrive in a way that is fair and sustainable. On behalf of Council, I encourage everyone to get involved in this engagement opportunity.” — Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa
“The special event process is made possible thanks to the behind-the-scenes efforts of Staff across multiple Town teams. Through this review, we’re working to build a streamlined framework that supports better service delivery, allows for cost recovery, and helps great events move forward more efficiently. Thank you to Staff for their continued commitment to strengthening our processes and supporting community celebration.” – CAO Nick Ruller
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