L-R: Caitlyn Murphy, Kaitlyn Stewart and Tara Windatt accept the 2026 BayToday Community Builders Award for Economic Development on behalf of the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival. Also pictured: Melanie Rivard and Mathieu Shank from Caisse Alliance. Photo by William Konken.
Fringe wins local Community Builders Award
On May 21, 2026, ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival received the BayToday Community Builders Award for Economic Development. Accepting the award on Fringe’s behalf were Tara Windatt (Administrative Director), Kaitlyn Stewart (Festival & Volunteer Coordinator), and Caitlyn Murphy (Board Chair). To read the full article by BayToday, please click the link below.
We were very honoured to be nominated for this award, and to be recognized alongside the other award winners for the work we do. As small not-for-profit, we rely on support from our community and funders. Being able to demonstrate community support through awards like these really helps us show why the arts are important and should be funded. Many thanks to the person or group that put our name forward for this award, to BayToday for organizing and hosting the Community Builders awards, and to the businesses, including Caisse Alliance, that sponsor them.
As Kelsey Ruhl (Artistic Director) said in the acceptance speech Kaitlyn read on her behalf:
Economic success isn’t possible without many players at the table. Together, we are not just building an arts infrastructure; we are creating sustainable jobs and a vibrant, funky and artistic future for North Bay. Thank you again for recognizing our passion and our progress and congratulations to everyone in this room for your contribution to making our city one we can be proud of.