Best in the West Awards 2025

At the 2025 Conference the following Best i the West Awards and Honourary Mentions wereannounced. Submissions for each are available below.

Community Leadership

The Crossing Pop-Up

Although awarded in the Community Leadership category, it also touches on also touches on Events and Marketing and External and Public Relations. This project looked to activate underutilized spaces in the District, bringing people together through art, creativity and local entrepreneurship. Working closely with local artists, makers, entrepreneurs, and community organizations a series of pop-up installments over the course of a month transformed the neighbourhood over the course of a month. This project addressed the high vacancy in the area, supported local artists and artisans, and drew new people to the District. A lasting effect is on-going conversations with property owners and community partners to establish a more permanent pop-up incubator space to serve as a hub of activity and a homebase for future storefront activations.

Downtown Langley Revitalization Response

This project took a disruptive municipal infrastructure upgrade and turned it into a comprehensive revitalization of a District. By engaging early with key stakeholders, and advocating for a beautification component to the construction, the BIA was able to mitigate future disruption, and also maximized long-term benefits, including boosting tourism, enhancing environmental sustainability, attracting new business and creating welcoming spaces for the community. The relationships built in advocating for the expanded project resulted in continued cooperation during construction, as the BIA shifted its focus to supporting business by implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure they remained resilient during the transformation. Through leadership of a task group of stakeholders, the BIA was able to proactively deal with utility shut offs, parking issues, safety concerns and, where problems arose, deal with the quickly, ensuring member support throughout. This is a prime example of a BIA being fully engaged with a leading in a community for the benefit of its members.

Honourary Mentions

Hey, Downtown Van Podcast

This project that aimed to connect the BIA with its members, stakeholders and the broader community. Providing a fresh avenue for conversation, the project has become a powerful too for fostering relationships, sharing insights and building a sense of community within the BIA. While the project had a healthy budget, it is something that is scalable to all budget sizes. The panel looks forward to seeing its future growth.

TaylorTown Promotional Partnership

This project took advantage of a major event coming to town to drive business to their district and members. The project involved a comprehensive marketing strategy and extensive member engagement to create a destination for thousands of people in town. Components included beautification, public art, signage, social media, media tours, advertising, storefront display incentive, plus a one-day street festival. While the panel is convinced that this specific major event may not be replicable, it is a great example of capitalizing on a major event in any community by partnering with stakeholders and engaging with members.