Carrousel of the Nations receives top provincial honour

High honours for the annual Carrousel of the Nations in Windsor-Essex.

The event put on by the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County has been named the Top Festival and Event in 2023 by Attractions Ontario.

Attractions Ontario announced the list of winners Monday for the Eighth Annual Ontario's Choice Awards.

Event co-chair Manny Paiva says they are thrilled with this recognition considering the 13 other finalists.

"To be named top festival and event in Ontario when you're among 13 finalists, anything from Oktoberfest to the Elvis Festival to holiday events, it really is a feather in our cap," he says. "It really means so much to the hundreds of volunteers from each of the villages who put on a record-breaking carrousel this year."

The event celebrates the diversity and cultural identities of the ethnic groups of Windsor-Essex.

This year, the 48th year for the festival, saw 25 villages showcase dishes and traditions from their culture. Some villages included the Caribbean Village, Italian Village, German Serbian, Mexican, Nepali, Nigerian and Greek.

The 2023 Carrousel of the Nations Festival took place in Windsor and Essex County on June 16 to 18 and 23 to 25.

Paiva says they had the typical hot spots during the festival this year like the Greek, Hungarian, Italian, and Polish villages.

"We had some new villages this year and people came out by the dozens, by the hundreds in fact, to take in the culture, take in the food, to take in the drink. To really help build and get to learn the culture in their own community, right here in our own backyard," he says.

Paiva says this recognition will help attract more people to Windsor-Essex as word of the festival spreads.

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. 

As the only province-wide trade association dedicated exclusively to the attractions sector of the tourism industry, Attractions Ontario members encompass over 500 public and privately owned attractions in numerous categories such as amusement parks, historical sites, cultural activities, arts & entertainment and adventure tourism.