The County of Haliburton cleaned up at the recent Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) awards gala, scoring two top honours for its work running the popular Hike Haliburton festival.
The fall edition of the free event has been running for more than 20 years, with the winter edition launching in 2020. Organized by the County’s tourism department, each version features guided walks of popular trails and tourist destinations across the Highlands. The multi-day events attract visitors from across Ontario, helping to boost the County economy.
“Since its inception, Hike Haliburton is a festival that continues to expand and evolve,” said County warden Dave Burton.
At the awards ceremony, held in Kitchener Feb. 25, the event was announced as the winner of the FEO Impact Award, given to a festival with an operating budget of $100,000 or less.
The nomination committee said Hike Haliburton stood above its competition due to the expanded programming offered in the 2025 fall edition, which included two new Indigenous-led events. The impact award recognizes festivals that embody the best ideas to advance cultural diversity and inclusion and being a leader in promoting truth and reconciliation in the Aboriginal community.
Last year, the festival received a $25,000 federal grant that went towards launching a new medicine walk and storytelling session by Indigenous knowledge holder Jared Big Canoe.
“These experiences quickly became some of the most in-demand offerings of the festival, consistently praised for their insight, authenticity and deep connection to the land,” the award nomination application read. “Participants expressed that these guided experiences gave them a richer understanding of local history, traditional ecological knowledge and cultural teachings.”
The County’s manager of tourism, Angelica Ingram, said they’re planning to integrate Indigenous programming into future editions of the festival.
Hike Haliburton was also recognized as one of the top 100 festivals in Ontario, standing alongside “events of all kinds from every corner of Ontario… from community festivals to internationally recognized events.”
