Stonetown Heritage Festival returns for 27th edition

The Stonetown Heritage Festival is leaning even more into its name this year with three separate walking history tours being offered over the three-day July event

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This includes the newly added river-walk tour that will showcase the history of St. Marys’ waterways. These 45-minute tours will be led by a local heritage guide and start at 11 am and 1 pm

Three artists will be featured at the restored Riverwalk Common building at 84 Water St. S. set for on Saturday, July 13. These include artist Peter Rice, who will be debuting his newest collection of Quiet Reflections cards, and Bonn Richardson, who will feature pieces from The Wonder of Water show, a collection of watercolor paintings inspired by snorkelling over coral reefs.

“Peter does incredible sculpture work and soldering. And then another local artist is Bonn Richardson, who actually snorkels and does her sketches underwater for the show, and then completes her art, obviously, once she comes out of the water,” said Town of St. Marys events co-ordinator Alanna Bowes .

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The third artist is Henry Bukenya of Uganda, whose paintings are inspired by his life experience. Bukenya was recently featured at the St. Marys Station Art Gallery for an exhibit that was very successful, Bowes said.

“This was the most successful exhibit they’ve ever had, with lots of sales. His work is amazing. We’re excited to have him as well,” she said.

While Saturday is the main day of the Friday-to-Sunday festival, there will be many family-friendly activities, including a kids’ zone, live music, street performances and more than 40 vendors and businesses, over the course of the entire weekend . A street dance will cap the Saturday celebrations.

“I think it offers something for everyone — from grandparents to grandchildren,” Bowes said.

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While grandparents are enjoying the sights during the heritage bus tour, she said, the grandkids and their parents could be enjoying the kids’ zone fun or taking part in some museum activities.

Sunday will feature the St. Marys Horticultural Society’s garden tour from 1 pm to 5 pm — maps will be sold at town hall for $10 — and the vintage pop-up market from 10 am to 3 pm at Riverwalk Commons.

While there are many events and activities for attendees to enjoy, the real highlight for Bowes is the sense of community the volunteer-led festival always brings.

“It’s driven by the community. We have all of our vendors, but we also have our community groups who sign up to take part in the festival, and they think that everyone kind of rallies together to offer a day to celebrate St. Mary’s and a day to kind of show visitors what St. Mary’s is all about. You really get this small-town St. Mary’s experience when you come to the festival,” she said.

More information about the festival, along with a full schedule of events, can be found at discoverstmarys.ca.

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