Carrousel of the Nations named Top Festival and Event in Ontario

Performers and vendors at the first-ever Mexican Village in Leamington, Ont. are seen on June 23, 2024. The village was a new addition to the Carrousel of the Nations festival lineup this year. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Carrousel of the Nations has been recognized, again, by people right across Ontario.

For the third year in a row, the annual event put on by the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County has been named Top Festival and Event in Ontario for 2025 by Attractions Ontario.

The recognition was part of the Tenth Annual Ontario’s Choice Awards, where the public voted Carrousel of the Nations as the province’s best festival.

The festival, celebrating its 50th anniversary this past year, celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the region through food, music, dance, and storytelling.

Over two weekends, June 13-15 and June 20-22, people were able to visit 37 different villages across Windsor, Amherstburg, Kingsville, and Leamington, including the Greek, Caribbean, Polish, Mexican, and Middle Eastern villages.

Organizers estimated that over 150,000 people took part in this year’s annual festival, generating over $1 million for the local economy.

Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County Executive Director Fred Francis says you can really feel the positive energy that’s catapulted the festival to a level it’s never been before.

“People coming out every single June, we can’t say thank you enough to the people of Windsor, Essex County, Kingsville, Leamington, and Amherstburg-these are all places where we have festivals this year,” he says. “We are a little bit speechless because we’ve never won this three years in a row.”

Francis says there’s around 2,000 festivals in Ontario, and to have the top festival and event be from this area is pretty humbling.

“We’re competing with powerhouses in the province, right? A lot of the festivals in Toronto and the GTA-those are who we’re competing with,” he says. “To have Carrousel of the Nations for a third year in a row come out as the top-voted top festival and event is really a testament to how we value diversity in our region and how wonderful our festivals are in Windsor-Essex.”

Francis says this is also huge from a tourism standpoint because some people just Google top festivals.

“When people do that, Carrousel of the Nations, Windsor, comes up. That’s how they plan. We heard it this year and saw it on our website graphics, statistics, and social media statistics. The amount of traffic we have online that is coming from outside Windsor-Essex is higher than we’ve ever experienced,” he says.

The winners of each category earned the most votes in their designated category, as voted on and chosen by consumers.

Attractions Ontario is a non-profit association dedicated solely to optimizing attendance for their member attractions.

~ By Rusty Thomson, AM800 News.