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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 12, 2016 | 10 Bronte gets boost from Lexus for Canada Day party by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff The Bronte Business Improvement Area (BIA) has a presenting sponsor in Lexus of Oakville for its Canada Day 2016 celebration. The announcement was made Monday (May 9) at the Lexus of Oakville showroom. "Canada Day pride and patriotism is close to my heart," said Frank Apa, Lexus of Oakville president and general manager. Lexus has been sponsoring the celebrations for the past three years. It is stepping up as presenting sponsor this year. "All of our corporate sponsors are equally important to us," said Ann Sargent, Bronte BIA executive director. "It's just wonderful that a sponsor, who has been with us for a number of years (Lexus of Oakville), has decided they want to become more involved because they're pleased with what they see and... we're about a clean, wholesome family-oriented, inclusive event and that's what we do and we think we do it well. It's only through partnerships we can accomplish it," she continued. The Bronte BIA organizes the free, all-day lakeside celebration, which sees upwards of 65,000 people throughout the course of the day, according to the BIA executive director. The presenting sponsor for this year's Canada Day at Bronte Harbour is Lexus of Oakville. Celebrating the partnership are, pictured, from left, Frank Apa, president and general manager of Lexus of Oakville, Bronte BIA board member and Oakville Councillor Roger Lapworth; Mary Roberts, chairs of Bronte BIA and Canada Day Committee; Paul Cates, Bronte BIA board member, and Ann Sargent, executive director of the Bronte BIA. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) The Oakville Canada Day celebration was recently named the seventh best festival in Ontario and 22nd in Canada in a nationwide WestJet customer contest. It typically features vendors, shows, performances and a fireworks display off Bronte Pier. "It's one of the top events on Lake Ontario and it's actually as big as we can build it within the confines of the space we have to work with," said Sargent. "We're very proud that we've grown it so much over the years." Sargent noted the Bronte BIA is the entity responsible for generating all the funds needed to host the celebration through corporate sponsorships. "It is a very expensive event and it wouldn't be affordable for our BIA to just do it on its own, so we have to rely on sponsors like Lexus to come and work with us and participate and get involved so we can put on this mega celebration," she said. Mary Roberts, who chairs the Bronte BIA and Canada Day committee, said it's incredibly important local businesses, such as Lexus, support the July 1 event, which is held annually at Bronte's Heritage Waterfront Park. "They're (Lexus of Oakville) part of the community, very community-minded and they also have an incredible brand they're see Federal on p.22 POP UP SALE MSRP $11,479 / SALE $5699 ­ 3 Corner Modules, 3 Slipper Modules, Coffee Table DEL MAR COLLECTION May 12th - May 15th Limited Quantity Available BUY 2 SACS SAVE $20! ·DIRT 905·333 supersac.ca Order online: AMERICAN EXPRESS ® (3478) + $5 refundable deposit on sac Pick your style Pick your pieces 1318 SPEERS ROAD 905-847-8551 OAKVILLEHOMELEISURE.CA