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Newport News Parks & Recreation wins multiple IFEA awards; department eyes World Festival City designation
Summary
Parks & Recreation staff reported winning multiple awards at the International Festivals and Events Association conference and said the department will pursue the World Festival & Event City designation next year.
Newport News Parks and Recreation staff told the City Council on Oct. 14 that the department won seven awards at the 2025 International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) Pinnacle Awards and plans to apply next year for the World Festival & Event City designation.
Councilman Ealy introduced the presentation and Shelly (parks/events staff) said she attended the IFEA conference and that Newport News won “9 gold, 5 silver, and a bronze awards” in total at the conference (regional results highlighted Newport News with seven awards, Norfolk with five, York County with four and Virginia Beach with three). She credited broad city staff support for the events and singled out Marquise Johnson, the city’s marketing coordinator, for producing the department’s award‑winning promotional materials.
A statement from IFEA World President and CEO Steve Schwader was read aloud and described the city’s achievements; Parks & Recreation said a press release would be distributed the day after the briefing. The department noted its staff is small relative to peer cities but said it has achieved strong results through partnerships and creative programming.
The department said it will submit an application for the World Festival & Event City award, a year‑long process that examines infrastructure, event diversity and the city’s record hosting festivals and events.
Council members congratulated staff and noted the work of the events team and marketing staff; no council action was requested or taken.
