Simcoe Heritage Friendship Festival ‘best we’ve ever had,’ says organizer

Thousands of visitors flocked to downtown parks on the long weekend to take in the Simcoe Heritage Friendship Festival.

It was the 55th anniversary of the four-day event, which has roots going back to 1967 when it was launched as a Canadian centennial project.

“I think it’s the best festival we’ve ever had,” organizer Sara Moody Veldhuis said mid-Monday afternoon. “We’ve had such tremendous response from everyone. We’re all volunteers and it just gives everyone a boost and makes us want to do it again.”

Katie Korfmann, who operates Brantford-based Katie’s Music Studio, brought her “musical petting zoo” to the festival, giving children a chance to try their hand at a variety of percussion and string instruments.

“This is such a great smaller festival,” Korfmann said as budding musicians took turns on the violin, xylophone and keyboards. “Everybody feels so welcome.”

Andy the Balloon Guy twisted together a big yellow flower, complete with green stem, for six-year-old Brooklyn Brady, who lives in Borden and was visiting family in the Norfolk area.

“I was at this festival many years ago,” said Brooklyn’s mom. “I knew we would be in the area so I said, ‘Heck, yeah, we’re going to do it this time.’”

Moody Veldhuis said visitors were impressed with the scope and variety of the festival events and activities that filled Wellington, Clifton and Grant Anderson parks from Friday to the Civic Holiday Monday.

She said the mandate of the festival is to provide opportunities for local service clubs to use the weekend as their primary fundraising opportunity.

Abel Enterprises, a Simcoe organization that has been helping to better the lives of community members who live with mental illness or addiction for the past 40 years, offered festival visitors a chance to reduce their stress level at a “car smash” and a couple of “rage rooms.” Darrell Goodlet used a mallet to do some damage to one of several cars donated by local businesses.

Scott Williams, director of Abel Enterprises, said everything shattered in the rage rooms – glass bottles, old TVs, framed artwork – would be recycled. Money raised through the smash-ups will go toward social programming for those who use the organization’s services.

Mary Stoner of Simcoe said her family enjoyed the festival’s extensive Kids’ Zone, operated by members of the Young Theater Players. Her daughter Ivy, 10, was among the dancers showing off their talent on a 22-foot aerial rigging set up by Crystal Lake Conservatory.

Music was a big part of the festival, filling the parks with rock, jazz, country and Gospel tunes on a main stage and some smaller platforms.

“We’re trying to give an opportunity to local musicians and students to see what it’s like performing at a festival,” said Moody Veldhuis.

A parade of food trucks offered visitors everything from jerk chicken to bubble tea, and a long line of more than 60 vendors provided lots of shopping opportunities.

Toast the Coast was a twist on the festival’s typical beer garden. Visitors purchased tokens for a chance to sample products from Norfolk craft breweries and wineries, including Backyard Brewing, Concession Road Brewery, Frisky Beaver Winery, Inasphere Wine, Meuse Brewing and Wishbone Brewery.

Moody Veldhuis said festival-goers come not just from the Norfolk area, but as far away as Niagara and the Greater Toronto Area.

“It’s hard to gauge when it’s a free event,” she said, “but there were tens of thousands of people.”

The event is organized by a committee of five who work almost year-round on planning. As many as 100 volunteers come out on festival weekend to help make it happen. The goal, said Moody Veldhuis, is to raise enough money to put on the festival again the following year.

“It’s a gift to Norfolk County and region for families to come out and have a really fun time, pretty much for free.”