Barrie’s Talk Is Free Theatre and Park Place have moved the city onto the national arts stage, as the local theatre company nominated the developer for a business and the arts award; the award will be presented Oct. 20.

Announced at a reception Wednesday evening, the Business For the Arts awards were chosen by a six-member jury.

TIFT’s artistic producer Arkady Spivak noted the Business And the Arts’ awards are typically given to organizations and companies in much-larger communities. Other winners announced this week included former Lt.-Gov. Henry Jackman for outstanding business leadership in the arts, and Scotiabank’s partnership with Toronto to create Nuit Blanche, an all-night exploration and celebration of art in museums, galleries and neighbourhoods.

“Looking at the history of this award, it’s very unusual the city the size of Barrie gets recognized. It’s the smallest,” said Spivak. “Generally, awards go to larger municipalities like Toronto, Calgary and Montreal; the smallest city in Ontario that has gotten some recognition is London. (Barrie) is no longer small potatoes.”

Park Place and its developer North American Corp. assisted TIFT at a strategic time; giving the fledging company a venue for several years, the company enabled the theatre to focus on its programming and building its audience.

“They were instrumental early on. Their support came at a critical time,” said Spivak.

In its nomination, TIFT told the arts panel the company’s staff whole-heartedly supported fundraisers and attended plays, events and galas. “North American made it a point that their people were invested every step of the way.”

Known as the First Dance award, the award recognizes a business that entered into its first arts partnership; criteria include staff involvement, company internal and external marketing efforts and in-kind donations.

The awards program aims to integrate business and arts communities, according to the nomination package for the awards, created and sponsored by The Globe and Mail.