Street Fest shows off ‘gem of a community’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/09/2022 (1249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Despite cool, damp weather on Saturday, Boissevain’s main street was hot with festivities for the town’s second annual Street Fest.
The festival celebrated all things Westman and the town’s artistic culture and community spirit. South Railway Street was closed off to let people freely walk about, visit businesses, booths, family-oriented games or just sit and enjoy live music, food, dancing and friendly competitions.
Celebrations were not confined to just one location. Around town, garage sales officially kicked off the festival at 9 a.m., and a free matinee featuring “Minions: the Rise of Gru” was playing at the Boissevain and Morton Community Theatre.
Boissevain Street Fest had plenty of fun and games, including an old-fashioned pie-eating contest on Saturday. Among the youngest was Caleb Duerksen, 11, who dove into his apple pie in a race to earn a trophy and bragging rights. (Karen McKinley/The Brandon Sun)
Residents were invited to a community harvest dinner in the evening, and festivities wrapped up later that day with a free concert from Crossfyre.
The festival was born out of a need to bring the community together and support businesses and arts during the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, said co-organizer Melissa Perkins.
During last year’s rounds of restrictions, there were talks about how to support local commerce while giving the community a safe way to have fun.
“This is such a gem of a community,” she said. “Amidst the COVID pandemic, there was a lot of things you couldn’t do. Local businesses were hurting over the impacts of COVID. So community groups came together to think about what’s something we could put on that is positive and the town could look forward to.”
The first festival adhered to the social distance and infection prevention rules at the time, Perkins said. The town closed off two blocks of the main street and had vendors set up booths, an art show and children’s activities. This year saw the expansion of activities as well as the area in which the festival took place.
Street Fest has grown exponentially in the past two years thanks to corporate sponsorships and all the dedicated volunteers working hard to put it together, she said. A festival of this magnitude requires a lot of hard work, she added, but organizers have had no trouble finding people willing to help.
However, the timing is one tricky detail, Perkins said. Between the changing weather, other communities’ fall festivals and harvest season underway, there is always concern about interest. However, with the high interest in both renditions of the festival, organizers are sticking with the mid-September date.
“It’s incredible how this community comes together,” Perkins said. “It’s the genuine sense of community that makes events like this possible.”
As a business owner and artist, Lisa Heide said business was going well with people stopping by the Boissevain-Morton Arts Council booth to watch painting and beading demonstrations and purchase watercolour paintings by Heide, as well as take in a free art show.
As the president of the arts council, she said the festival is a great opportunity for people to come see why the town is famous for being a hub for original art.
“This community really supports art and it’s been that way for 25 years,” she said. “This has grown from an evening for the arts council and we are really happy to work with the other organizations in town to make this bigger than it was.”
» kmckinley@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @karenleighmcki1