Best quote of the night? There are so many to choose from.

Last night’s (January 19) public meeting on event tourism in Huntsville drew about 200 fired-up people to the Active Living Centre. It was dinner time. It was cold outside. Parking was hard to find. The Banff Mountain Film Festival was screening at the Algonquin Theatre. None of that mattered to this crowd who wanted to hear or be heard about the importance of event tourism, and specifically Ironman Muskoka, to Huntsville.

See our full coverage of the meeting here.

Here are a few colourful and poignant quotes from the two-and-a-half hour meeting:

When you say that we are competing with Newfoundland and Ireland, oh come on. I can go to Thailand for the same amount of money it costs to spend the long weekend at Deerhurst – sorry Deerhurst. You (Huntsville) are competing with the whole world.Don McCormack, on why we need to continue to spend money on event tourism

We are probably not going to get another trailer hitch facility coming to Huntsville but sport tourism is the wave of the future and it’s something that puts us on the international map and it’s certainly something in line with the Muskoka values and we are darn good at it so let’s keep going.Harold Featherstone

I did 17 rooms last weekend. That’s Friday and Saturday. Last year I was almost full because it was cold. We had the skating trail. If we don’t go after these things I’m not employing housekeepers. I can’t bring them in. I don’t have any rooms for them to clean.Matthew Phillips, general manager Holiday Inn Express

We’re going to have great roads in Muskoka because there won’t be anyone driving on them.Ross Kerwin

We are the envy of Muskoka. Don’t lose that. Find a way to make it work.Peter Redwood

I have two questions for you. How was the $100,000 loss such a surprise and wouldn’t it have been prudent to call a meeting such as this before making such an impactful decision?Allison Deaumont, Member of Trimuskoka, had questions for council about the sudden cancellation of Ironman

Rather than being a panel of bureaucrats you should be a panel of problem solvers.Brandon Whitby, accomplished ironman competitor and cottager on how council should be providing leadership

How much does $50,000 cost the Huntsville taxpayer?It took a councillor from lake of Bays, Nancy Tapley, to ask one of the most important yet simplest questions of the evening

I’m a gypsy. I could have moved anywhere but I chose Huntsville.Jennifer Demers

I take full responsibility. I apologize.Mayor Scott Aitchison on the early cancellation of Ironman Muskoka without public consultation