Both at the height of summer and in the middle of winter, The Hillside Festival creates festivals that bring innovative music, aboriginal drumming, children's entertainment, environmental learning, and glorious food to thousands of people. At the festivals and during the rest of the year in local schools and at camps, it offers educational workshops in aboriginal culture, songwriting, peacemaking, health & wellness, and environmental projects. As a 33-year-old grassroots organization that promotes creativity, altruism, equality, environmentalism and peacemaking in every aspect of its work , Hillside has won many awards for its programming and green initiatives. Most recently, it was awarded Best Green Operations from Canadian Music Week, honoured with the City of Guelph’s Accessibility Award , and given the Grand River Conservation Authority’s highest distinction-- the Honour Roll award. From Festivals and Events Ontario, it won this year’s Best Greening Award and a Festival & Events of Distinction award. In 2016, Hillside was also nominated for Best Small Festival and Best Children’s Programming from Canadian Music Week . The Globe and Mail , CBC Radio 2, and Eric Alper on Canada AM have named it “one of the ten best festivals in Canada” several years running.
