This next post is in regards to something that I really hold to my heart in Ottawa. It has to do with the amount of amazing festivals in this city. This was just reaffirmed by Mayor Jim Watson when he proclaimed that Ottawa has more festivals per capita then any other city in North America. That feels totally true. From April to October there is not one weekend where you are bored and say to yourself, nothing is going on in this city. Of course, you can be lazy and say this, but it just wouldn’t be true. From sports, food, music, and communities there is just an abundance of great festivals and gatherings that can satisfy people of all ages.
I recently went to the Westfest kickoff gathering at the beautiful new Clocktower brew pub in Westboro. It occurs from June 8th to the 10th this year. In future posts I will be going over what new things are going on in the different communities in Ottawa, but Westboro is certainly an area of Ottawa I always want to bring friends and family from out of town because it is relatively unknown to visitors, but certainly not to any of us here. Anyways, I stumbled upon Westfest only a few years ago when they had Sloan as one of the bands giving a free concert, it brought me to bike out to Westboro the next day to check out the festivities. What a great community festival! From the great bike parking and easy accessibility, to the local shops setting up stalls on the streets and their owners greeting the community, to the free concerts going on, its something I have always wanted to see in Guelph, but never have. I am all about community and this festival is about community
At the kickoff, I learned about an interesting report and got to hear from the great organizer Elaina Martin, she was a very charismatic, personable, enthusiastic woman who clearly has the respect of the community. She has been doing a tremendous job managing the over $600,000 budget (received mainly from city and the great sponsorship opportunities). A special congratulation goes to Pat Morris, an outstanding realtor in the Westboro area who has been a sponsor for a very long time and received a Westfest “Rockstar” award, one of the first ever handed out. http://www.morrishometeam.com/about_us/index_e.php
It will be an excellent festival again this year with Steven Page headlining Saturday night on the Domicile Main Stage and Sunday will have the Cooper brothers playing, all free.
If you would like to learn more, please visit the Westfest homepage at http://www.westfest.ca
This is my post about Westfest, my next will be regarding the Ottawa Bluesfest.
