Chamber of Commerce CEO Jill Raycroft provided Belleville City Council on Monday with an update on a couple of Discover Belleville’s annual festivities.
Raycroft says Canada Day at West Zwick’s Park is all about families and will start with the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast.
There will be inflatables for jumping, the Hot Diggity Dogs are back and so is Classic Championship Wrestling, a huge hit from last year.
The Lions Pavilion mainstage is active all day long with multiple local artists performing traditional Canadian favourites.
Buskers will be roaming the park and there will be balloon twisting and face painting.
Pop-Ups on the Bay will also be open with plenty of food options.
It’s a dance party in the evening, ending with fireworks at 10 p.m.
July 11 to 14 is the 46th Annual Belleville Waterfront Multicultural Festival.
Raycroft says they’re aiming this year to return to the roots of the festival, learning more about the cultures here through music, dance, crafts and activities.
More than 12 countries including Poland, India, Mexico, Jamaica and Syria, are represented in the Multicultural Food Village and the Pop-Ups on the Bay.
Opening ceremonies will take place on Thursday evening and the midway will be open Thursday through Sunday.
Advance midway coupons will be available at the Log Cabin starting later this week.
Friday is a salute to the old Waterfront days with local bands taking the mainstage including the Commodores Orchestra, the Brian Leger Blues Project, the Sounds of Waterfront Variety Band and a few other surprise local performers that will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Saturday is full of multicultural music and performances including the much-loved Parade of Nations while Saturday night will feature dancing and the sounds of the Caribbean and India.
There will be some Celtic flair on Sunday with music and dance from Ireland and Scotland.
For both events, onsite parking will be available for a $5 donation which will support local community groups.
On Monday, city council approved a request for free shuttle buses from Quinte Mall and the downtown terminal for Canada Day and the downtown terminal for Waterfront weekend.
There will also be a licensed area this year at Waterfront, hosted by Daft Brewing out of Kingston.
Council also approved a designation making the festival a municipally significant event that will allow organizers to apply for the necessary permit.
Raycroft says it’s been several years since they’ve had a licensed area.
“It has been a challenge with the amount of volunteer requirement and the investment that it needs in order to make that work and it’s been really difficult to be able to bring a group of people together so this is probably the solution that will work. Everybody says they want it back. We’ve certainly managed to do it without it but we’re excited to have them partner with us.”
For full details, follow the links at discoverbelleville.ca or the festival website at www.bellevillewaterfrontfestival.com
