The 2024 Event Atlantic Excellence Awards

            Winners of the Event Atlantic Excellence Awards onstage

At the 2024 Event Atlantic Summit in Charlottetown, Events East was proud to share in two Event of the Year Awards at the 2024 Excellence Awards. The Awards represent and promote events hosted in all four Atlantic provinces; the Event of the Year Awards are presented to events that demonstrate excellence in event attraction, event delivery, and collaboration among partners. The Champion of the Year Award was presented to our Executive Vice-President, Suzanne Fougere. 

Fiona and Brooks Diamond stand onstage accepting an award

 

We were thrilled to nominate the Hal-Con Sci-Fi & Fantasy Convention, which won the Event of the Year Award ($100,000 to $500,000). Entirely volunteer-run and community-driven, Hal-Con has grown from a local 1,500-person gathering to welcoming more than 15,000 guests. The event is designed to be inclusive and accessible, and welcomes cosplayers, gamers, novelists, collectors, craftspeople, and our favourite film and TV stars. We were also thrilled to share in the Event of the Year Award (<$100,000) for the Wildfire Recovery Concert, accepted by Fiona and Brooks Diamond. In June 2023, after the largest wildfires in Nova Scotia's history, partners including Events East, Brooks Diamond Productions, Sonic Concerts, and Nova Scotia's music community planned a 10-act show in record-time. By contributing labour, production, and in-kind services, with donations raised leading up to and during the event, more than $330,000 was donated to the United Way's Wildfire Recovery Appeal.  "United Way Halifax is so grateful for the support of Events East, Scotiabank Centre, and our other partners to quickly pull it together" said Sara Napier, President & CEO of United Way Halifax. 

            Suzanne stands at a podium giving remarks into a microphone Suzanne stands on stage to accept her award from Event Atlantic

For embodying the spirit of collaboration in event hosting in Atlantic Canada, Suzanne Fougere was presented with the Champion of the Year Award. For over a decade, Suzanne has promoted our region as a premier event destination and has helped attract major national and international events including the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 2024 JUNO Awards, Skate Canada International, and the 2025 Canadian Curling Trials. She has led Scotiabank Centre's event attraction and business development strategies and continues to create opportunities to bring vibrancy and impact to our region. We were delighted to see Suzanne achieve this recognition.