Brandon First: Who They Are & Why They Matter

Brandon First is a not-for-profit Destination Marketing Organization that consists of a twelve member Board of Directors, a three person staff, plus a base of more than forty local business stakeholders. We are committed to working as a cohesive group to promote Brandon, Manitoba as a host city for events. We proactively source out events by attending conferences, meetings, sporting events and more to find the ones that are the right fit for our city, our venues and our market. We then work to find a local committee or interested party to pursue these potential leads. We also work with local organizations and committees who already have an idea in mind to bring their targeted event to the City of Brandon. It is our goal to drive economic development in the city through multi-day event tourism, and successful event hosting. Our team provides administrative assistance to the Event Hosting Grant program offered through the City of Brandon and can help qualifying events easily apply for extra funding to help improve the hosting process and attendee experience.

Event hosting is a great opportunity for tourism dollars to come to Brandon that may not have otherwise. We all know that when an event is in town the restaurants are busy, the hotels are fuller, local stores get frequented, and event venues and vendors see direct business right away. Event tourists spend an average of four times more than leisure tourists, and tend to stay for more days, experiencing more of our city and spending more money at our local businesses.

Brandon has a number of regional and national events scheduled this summer including:

June 28 – July 2, 2023

Canadian National Trap Shooting | Brandon Gun Club

July 19-23, 2023

World Clydesdale Show | Keystone Centre

July 19 – 23, 2023

Salamander Summer Music Festival | Rideau Park

August 2 – 5, 2023

Canadian National High School Rodeo

Championships | Keystone Centre

August 9 – 13, 2023

Softball Canada U15 Girls National Championships | Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex

August 11 – 13, 2023

Western Canadian Powerlifting Championships | Healthy Living Centre at Brandon University

Using the Economic Impact Calculator through Destinations International, the upcoming U16 National Girls Softball Championships, scheduled for August 9 –13, and expected to draw competitors from every province, is projected to generate 1000 overnight stays and approximately a million dollars in direct spending in our community ($1,004,930 projected Business Sales (Direct)) Hosting events like this benefits both direct event industry businesses (venues like the Keystone Centre or Ashley Neufeld Sportsplex) as well as indirect industry businesses (restaurants, local shops, gas stations etc)

For an up-to-date listing of Upcoming Events Brandon First is working with, you can always visit brandonfirst.com/upcoming-events.

If you'd like to get involved with any of these events as a sponsor, a donor, a committee member or a volunteer, reach out to us and we can connect you with the event organizers!

Brandon First would like to extend a huge thanks to our community stakeholders for their continued support of our organization. That support helps to solidify Brandon as one of the premier event destinations in Canada and helps to grow our city, economy and infrastructure. Brandon First plays a pivotal role in bringing events and tourism dollars to the city of Brandon. Our stakeholders get preferred, direct access to the decision makers and event organizers that we help recruit. If you’re interested in becoming a member of Brandon First you can reach out to our Executive Director, Jenn Watson, at any time by email jenn@brandonfirst.com