Leslie Fournier
Leslie was awarded ‘Business Woman of the Year’ and ‘Citizen of the Year’ for her vision and implementation of the Streets Alive program, to help revitalize the downtown core and unleash a new wave of tourism visits to the town of Orillia, Ontario. More than a dozen high impact, creative projects have been unveiled on the streets, leading to the transformation of Orillia as a cultural tourism hot spot. Leslie works with communities, BIA’s and tourism stakeholders to help them find their stories and take action in setting themselves apart as an exciting and unique destination.
“Congratulations Leslie on all the creative work you have done over the years to make our main street such a beautiful place from spring to fall. Our visiting guests can’t get over what a stunning city we live in.”
Dorothy MacDonald – Orillia, ON
Streets Alive Productions
Entrepreneur Creative Placemaker Dreamer & Doer Small Town Enthusiast
Streets Alive is an evolving exhibit of public art and placemaking events. Each season a project is chosen and the creative community submits designs that become interactive art that is placed along the city streets. Projects have ranged from hand painted banners that have created an outdoor gallery, to giant letters of the alphabet displayed as individual sculptures. As many as sixty sculptures have been produced during each tourist season and these exhibits create unique and interactive walking tours that invite visitors to explore the city and discover the shops, cafes and cultural gems on offer.
Public Art Creative Placemaking Experiential Tourism Community Collaboration
“Engaging local artists to participate in what is now a full blown ‘placemaking festival’, Leslie Fournier has created a perfect scenario for promoting cultural tourism. Streets Alive has not only resulted in a more beautiful downtown but has also made an impact on the community’s economy.”
Krista Storey – Manager of Arts & Culture, Town of Gravenhurst, Muskoka.