Community Hero:
Leslie Fournier
by Hillary Handy
Teacher. Entrepreneur. Artist. Community Minded. Community Hero.
These are just some of the titles we can attribute to our latest Community Hero, Leslie Fournier.
Leslie is originally from Napanee, Ontario. She had the privilege of attending school in Switzerland for her final year of high school, leading to an interest in learning and speaking French. Following her post-secondary pursuits, she actually worked in France, guiding cycling and hiking tours for a decade. Thirty years ago, she found herself moving to Orillia as her husband was teaching in Gravenhurst and they began their family shortly thereafter. She also has worked as a teacher, teaching French and Physical Education. How fitting!
Leslie eventually opened Jack and Maddy – A Kid’s Store in 2001 to fill a void in our downtown core. This has become a shopping destination for our littlest of shoppers. This toy store was named after her children and its legacy lives on with new owner Megan Murray. Owning this store started her journey of becoming interwoven into the community, meeting many families and developing relationships with the local businesses here. It was then that she became interested in more art and colour on Mississaga Street, and the Festival of Banners was born. This was a project wherein the community could paint banners and contribute to enhancing the streets of Orillia’s downtown core. This project then birthed Streets Alive, which is a yearly public art program that Leslie organizes.
She explained, “The concept of Streets Alive is to have the Downtown Core be a unique and inviting destination for creativity in the public realm. It’s an aspect of Placemaking that invites artists of different levels and interests to participate and allows citizens and visitors to engage with the art pieces and to discover their surroundings and all that the Downtown and City have to offer.”
We can see Leslie’s love for her community so clearly in all of this Community Hero’s work. She commented, “Social connections and community are the building blocks of healthy places. Everyone wants to live in a community that feels welcoming and offers plenty of opportunities for positive and shared experiences. Art has a way of getting people talking and connecting. The aesthetic elements can be incredibly uplifting and joyful, and the variety of artistic mediums can educate, spark curiosity, allow for celebration or invite debate.”
Leslie has a passion for organizing these projects because she loves seeing the artistic community come together- both the creators and the small businesses and partnerships that support these endeavours.
Leslie recognizes that the work through Streets Alive could not have happened without the support from many wonderful small businesses and groups, such as Sanderson Monument, North Simcoe Arts, and the Downtown Orillia BIA. This work has led to partnerships with Mariposa Folk Festival, Leacock Museum, Orillia Opera House, Orillia Museum of Art & History, Lightfoot Days Festival, Green Orillia, Mariposa Pollinators, The Peter Street Arts District, Creative Nomad Studios, and The Port of Orillia, to name a few. She also wishes to extend a huge shout out to the current owners of Jack & Maddy – A Kids Store for their ongoing support of these endeavors. That is the spirit of our community, right there!
Leslie reflected on the various projects she has orchestrated. Her initial sculpture project Guitars On Parade in 2010 celebrated the 50th anniversary of our beloved Mariposa Folk Festival. This has since turned into an ongoing partnership where there is public art at every Festival since.
Another touching effort was the painting of ‘Fred’s Tree’ on ornaments for the Merry Streets Alive Christmas event, which honoured the history of the tree and gave citizens a keepsake. This event was able to raise $1,500 for the Couchiching Conservancy.
The ‘Pollinator Friendly’ initiative from last summer raised awareness of the importance of planting native flowers for the bees, monarchs and so many other insects that are crucial to the pollination process and our local food sources.
In more recent years, her passions have also evolved toward small-town revitalization and downtown placemaking through Your Town Rising. She is also pursuing some new projects including upcycling through transforming clothing and plastic water bottles into eco-art, as well as planning for some large-scale mural projects.
We have all enjoyed the Streets Alive contributions to our community, in all seasons. Most recently, you may have noticed the changing displays centred around the corner of Mississaga Street and Peter Street. Our town endured a devastating fire, affecting many small businesses and leading to the need to tear down that landmark corner building. There is a visible hole in the cityscape and protective fencing surrounding the area. It is not the most pleasant or visually appealing of corners at the moment. But with her artistic eye, Leslie has been bringing beauty to the ashes with various art installations on the fencing. Leslie commented that the timeline is unclear about the rebuild. She went on to say: “Our hope is to at least be able to add some beauty and interest to the area, by means of fence décor in the short term. We’re also working with the Peter Street Arts District to look at ways to enhance the block with creative elements and ensure people continue to visit the galleries and the Orillia Museum of Art & History, which is an absolute gem in our city. And we hope to get the ARTS Letters back up as soon as we are able, as they are such an iconic landmark for this block.”
Sentiments shared online indicate that many people are missing the ARTS letters in our downtown core. We are all looking forward to what is to come for this space and the Arts Community in Orillia.
More than just her community initiatives, Leslie has been inspiring her own family in her most important role as a mother. Looking for some insight into that, we connected with her daughter Madeleine Fournier (Sustainable Simcoe North columnist).
She commented, “As I have stepped into my own role as a community organizer in Orillia, my mom has been there every step of the way. Whether it’s the Stop Sprawl Orillia campaign, Green Orillia community garbage cleanups, or rallies and protests, she is always there helping and supporting. This past year, we had the special opportunity to collaborate for the first time through Green Orillia and Streets Alive on the 2024 Pollinator Friendly project. Together, we brought 60 wooden flowers to life—each painted by a local artist to represent a different native wildflower, and we also transformed two downtown planter boxes into native wildflower gardens.”
Madeleine recognizes the impact her mother has made in her own life and journey: “She has taught me the power of determination and that if we want to make something happen we have to go after it, no matter how many people say it can’t be done. I am so incredibly grateful to have had such a strong female role model to look up to all these years and I owe so much to her for inspiring me and shaping me into the person I am today.”
Leslie is dreaming of the future of Orillia. She stated:
“My biggest hope for Orillia is for people to realize that each one of us can be a participant in helping to shape our community. Placemaking invites all. Concerned about litter? Invite a friend for a walk and a litter pick-up. Want more fresh, local food options? Visit the Farmer’s Market, connect to a Community Garden or chat with a neighbour about sharing raised garden beds. Have an idea for a creative event? Invite a few people for a coffee and brainstorm ideas. And then take a few small steps and actions. There is no single project, event or person to save a town. Community Building and Revitalisation takes many ideas, people and actions. It happens day in and day out with constant care and attention. It’s about a thousand small projects and a mindset of ‘we can’ over ‘they should’.”
A sentiment we can all get behind.
Leslie’s work in our community has earned her various recognitions such as Orillia’s Citizen of the Year, Business Woman of the Year, Nelle Carter Woman of the Year, the Qennefer Browne Achievement Award and the OrilliaMatters Community Builders Award in the Arts category. We, too, want to honour Leslie for all her contributions to our community. For these reasons and more, North Simcoe Life would like to recognize Leslie Fournier as this issue’s Community Hero.
If you know someone wonderful and feel they need to be recognized, please send us an email at info@northsimcoe.life to nominate our next Community Hero.