Last year’s Downtown Street Festival in Corunna was so popular — Tracey Kingston knew they had to do it again.
“The first thing people said to me was, ‘you’ve got to do this again next year,’” said the event’s organizer. “People just loved it.”
The event, set to take over Lyndoch Street on Saturday, Sept. 21, will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feature 40 vendors, kids’ activities, inflatables, demonstrations, and a full slate entertainment.
“We’ve got lots of stuff going on,” Kingston said, pointing to Zumba shows, stilt walkers and face painting. “At noon, we have an Indigenous showcase, featuring First Nation dancers, drummers and singers.”
The street festival was first held last year as part of the ‘Corunna 200’ festivities — an anniversary party to mark when the town almost became Canada’s capital.
Dubbed, ‘Almost the Capital,’ the events also included a dedication ceremony at St. George’s square, where storyboards mark what was once envisioned as the home of the future parliament buildings.
Kingston, and a committee of volunteers, received support from the St. Clair Heritage Committee and a $25,000 donation from St. Clair Township towards last year’s street fesitval.
“Quite honestly, we still had the budget for it — so we thought we might as well do a repeat,” Kingston said. “I just got a group of people who knew how to organize things, and were already involved in the community. And we’ve had a lot of support from the Township.”
Last year’s event had Kingston — a longtime volunteer, Optimist member, and former councillor — getting a little emotional.
“It was just such a sense of community, and I was actually kind of emotional to see everybody just having fun — hundreds of people on the street just milling about, casually having a nice time.”
There won’t be food vendors on site, but festivalgoers are encouraged to support local venues like Antonios, Rustic Scoops, Two Water Brewing (featuring Burger Rebellion on site) and the Bad Dog Bar and Grill.
A full schedule of events, street map, and vendor listings can be found at https://corunnastreetfestival.com/.
Corunna residents are encouraged to walk or bike to the event — with limited parking due to Carmeron Street being closed for construction, Kingston added.
“Why not make a day of it? There’s something for everyone.”