Illuminating Impact: Moonlight Bazaar’s Data-Driven Evolution Through Digital Boost 3.0

Moonlight Bazaar is an award-winning, open-air urban street festival that has transformed city streets across Atlantic Canada since 2017. Known for its massive, illuminated moon, eclectic performances, live music, and over 50 vendors, the Bazaar blends art, food, and creativity into one unforgettable experience. Free and open to the public, it is the largest art and culture street event of its kind in Atlantic Canada and a signature celebration of the unconventional.

As the event continued to grow in scale and impact, Moonlight Events Ltd. faced a familiar challenge in the cultural sector: how to clearly and credibly demonstrate its economic and community value to government funders, sponsors, and municipal partners.

To address this, Moonlight Bazaar participated in Digital Boost 3.0, a program that helps New Brunswick-based businesses gain access to funding and practical support for digital transformation. The program helps organizations understand their current digital landscape by examining cybersecurity, data management, and artificial intelligence (AI). Based on these insights, businesses move forward with implementing tailored solutions that strengthen security, improve productivity, and support innovation. Digital Boost 3.0 also reduces financial barriers by supporting work with New Brunswick-based technology providers.

Through Digital Boost 3.0, Moonlight Bazaar partnered with local solution provider NorthBound Advisory, led by co-founders Tony Sheehan and Bob Ouellette.

The assessment phase focused on closing Moonlight Bazaar’s “data credibility gap.” While the 2025 Charlottetown event clearly delivered strong community engagement, existing data collection methods lacked the depth and reliability required by major funders. Visitor origin data was especially limited, with on-site surveys capturing only 0.4 percent of total attendance.

NorthBound Advisory designed and validated a pilot measurement approach using LiveGauge Bluetooth sensors, third-party data validation, and targeted on-site surveys. This multi-source methodology produced a realistic estimate of attendance and economic impact, establishing a credible baseline for future reporting.

The assessment also identified operational and governance gaps, including opportunities to reduce reliance on expensive external data services, improve internal data ownership, and ensure all future collection methods align with Canadian privacy legislation (PIPEDA).

Building on the assessment findings, NorthBound Advisory implemented from their strategic, phased roadmap to strengthen Moonlight Bazaar’s long-term data strategy. The roadmap prioritizes enhanced postal-code collection, improved POS configuration, QR-based engagement tools, and the potential introduction of a white-label event app to significantly increase demographic insight in future events.

Equally important, the implementation plan embedded governance, privacy, and reporting structures to mitigate regulatory risk and maintain funder trust. By validating practical, cost-effective tools during the pilot, Moonlight Bazaar now has a clear path toward scalable, repeatable measurement across multiple cities.

The 2025 Charlottetown Moonlight Bazaar attracted approximately 21,500 attendees and generated an estimated $946,000 in direct economic spending. LiveGauge sensors clearly measured attendance and dwell-time data, while third-party validation confirmed overall scale and visitor mix.

More importantly, the project produced a defensible framework that Moonlight Events Ltd. can use to secure sustained government and corporate funding, improve operational efficiency, and enhance attendee engagement in future events. With a clear roadmap in place, the organization is positioned to strengthen ROI reporting, deepen vendor value, and continue growing the Bazaar responsibly and sustainably.