Ottawa concert promoter Ken Craig receives Mayor’s City Builder Award

Ottawa concert promoter Ken Craig was presented with a Mayor’s City Builder Award by Mayor Jim Watson in a ceremony held at Ottawa City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 21 prior to the scheduled council meeting. 

The Mayor's City Builder Award is a civic honour created to recognize an individual, group or organization that has, through their outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action, demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making Ottawa a better place today and for the future. 

“When I got the letter, I was shocked,” Craig told The Sam Laprade Show on Sept. 26. “I was humbled and I accepted very happily.”

Born and raised in the Ottawa area, Craig has spent 40 years in the live entertainment business which has seen him involved in the promotion and staging of more than a thousand events in Ottawa and all over the world. His events have entertained millions of fans and generated an amazing half billion dollars of total economic impact. The shows have been both big (e.g., Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, etc.) and small (local bands and events) but they have all contributed greatly to the economies and culture of the communities in which they were held.

He has the distinction of having played a role in every one of the Ottawa's top five concerts of all time including the largest ever held that featured The Rolling Stones at Lansdowne Park on August 28, 2005 in a partnership with Donald K Donald. The Stones concert attracted a sold-out crowd of 43,200 fans, direct revenues of $9 million and a total economic impact of $25 million. Other major shows at Lansdowne Park that Ken worked on included David Bowie (1987), Pink Floyd (1988), New Kids on the Block (1998), AC/DC (2015) and Guns N’ Roses (2017).

Craig has served on countless volunteer committees, including the organizing committees for three different Grey Cup Games, the Juno Awards organizing committees and various development and design committees, lending his expertise to Wesley Clover Parks, the Rideau Carleton Casino, TD Place Building Committee and many others to ensure design elements meet the needs of event producers and promoters.

In his many years of volunteering, Mr. Craig has donated, fundraised and served on the parent councils and committees for both St. Leonard and St. Mark Catholic schools, volunteered in numerous capacities with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, produced a fundraiser show with radio station Y105 and has assisted with numerous other local organizations and events, like the Nortel Power Aid Live Concert and 'After the Storm' Tornado Relief Benefit Concert.

Listen to the full interview with Ken Craig below: