CORNWALL, Ontario – Beyond 21’s Food Fest is returning for Saturday, Aug.18 and will be featuring a new partnership this year.
This year, Food Fest is partnering with Your Arts Council (YAC) to provide live entertainment right on the street. The YAC’s YACbuskapalooza event will be taking place during Food Fest and up to 10 buskers will be on the street providing lively entertainment to go with the delicious food.
“We’ve had local performers and artists in the past, so this is a very logical growth for us,” said Beyond 21 Executive Director Jane McLaren.
Once again, Food Fest will be taking place from First St. to Third St. along Pitt St.
Last year, Food Fest added a new spot on the street to feature local musicians with their Ontario 150 Culture Stage. The Culture Stage will be returning again this year at Pitt and First streets. Beyond 21 is working with the local Francophone community to bring back more French performers, which were a popular feature with the community last year.
There will also be opportunities for the kids to get involved in the arts and culture with three different craft activities happening during the event, facilitated by local artists.
McLaren said that Cornwall’s downtown is already excited for Food Fest’s return.
“The downtown is very excited about this,” she said. “Merchants are already talking about specials they are going to do.”
Last year, on the same weekend as Food Fest, the Kinsmen also held their annual car show in Lamoureux Park and over at the Civic Complex, Cornwall Tiny Convention, CoTiCon was taking place. It was a weekend were there were events taking place from Cornwall’s waterfront, right through the downtown.
There has been some confusion over the past couple of weeks after the Seaway Food Festival announced it was closing.
The Seaway Food Festival is a separate entity from Food Fest. Seaway Food Festival organized events like Beer Fest, Poutine Week, Le Burger Week and Restaurant Week.
Money raised by Food Fest goes to support Beyond 21. The Hub for Beyond 21 works with adults with developmental disabilities to help them gain skills, connect with their community and achieve their dreams. Currently Beyond 21 supports over 4, 000 participants throughout the year.
Last year, Food Fest raised over $20,000 for Beyond 21.
