While some cities brought out their tables, pamphlets, and pop-ups, Tourism North Bay rolled out an ice hut—a fully built and functional ice hut—to go fishing, but not for fish.
Tourism North Bay was fishing for ice fishermen last weekend at Canada’s Ice Fishing Expo at the Molson Centre in Barrie. This was part of their new initiative to attract prospective tourists to the area as the winter months take hold and the ice on Lake Nipissing thickens enough for the fleet of ice huts to take shape.
“It was the only full ice fishing hut in the show,” Stephen Hollingshead said proudly. “And we also built it to be an event trailer and functioning ice shack for the future.”
And he got more than a few bites.
At the Expo, Hollingshead said fishermen couldn’t keep away from the 8’x12’ structure, decorated to harken to North Bay and the community partners that help foster Tourism North Bay. Even professional Canadian wrangler Bob Izumi had to run over to check it out while they had it set up.
“The ice hut started last year when I moved to North Bay and I saw what was going on in the winter,” Hollingshead said. “It was one of the most unique things I had seen, all the huts on Lake Nipissing. I thought the hut would be a good marketing tool for the city, especially when we can start bringing it around as an event trailer.”
Most in attendance were from Southern Ontario who were looking for places up north to go ice fishing in the winter and Hollingshead said he kept getting questions about other winter attractions in the winter.
Hollingshead said if it wasn’t for community partners who help, these initiatives wouldn’t happen—that Tourism North Bay isn’t part of the city.
“Only four hotel partners exist for us,” he said. “Travelodge Lakeshore, Comfort Inn Lakeshore, Comfort Inn Airport, Super 8, as well as Canadore College Residence, and the Laurentian Ski Hill. We now have a new partner in the shape of New Ontario Brewing and they all help make it happen.