Games’ 13 For 13 offers entertainment, activities

It’s just a week away and the event being planned in Simcoe Park to celebrate the Niagara Canada Summer Games 13 For 13 Cultural Festival has seemed a bit of a mystery to residents.

Coun. Gary Burroughs pressed town staff at last week’s council meeting for some information about what to expect at the party in the park, so residents could make plans to attend.

It’s happening next Wednesday, Aug. 10, hosted by the town. Each municipality was given a date to team up with one of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, and NOTL is partnering with British Columbia to showcase its unique cultural heritage.

The town is still looking for vendors, particularly food vendors, town CAO Marnie Cluckie says, as well as wine, beer, spirit and produce vendors.

The town also needs volunteers, she says.

The coordinating lead on organizing the event is the town’s customer service and communications staff, who also look after community engagement, Cluckie says, and are  working with people from the Summer Games 

She is promising the event will offer entertainment, games, and various activities.

Cluckie provided further details Monday of what to expect at the festival, which runs from 2 to 10 p.m. next Wednesday.

The event’s programming will be staggered, she says, and will include a farmers’ market, children’s programming, culinary vendors, and art and local programming.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library and Shaw Festival are demonstrating a live storybook reading on stage at the bandshell during the day, says Cluckie, and the NOTL Museum will have the Tiny Museum at the park, and will hold “a traditional tennis game.”

The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre is hosting an art show with kids, and Fort George will be demonstrating an 1812 encampment and musket-firing show . 

Said the Whale, a Juno award-winning Vancouver-based indie rock band, has been lined as the featured performer to end the evening.

A special occasion permit has been issued for the day to allow alcohol and food and other activities in Simcoe Park, calling the event a cultural festival that “promotes the Niagara-on-the-Lake community, agriculture, businesses, NOTL/Indigenous/Francophone heritage, and key messaging of our partner province British Columbia.”

The town has received a contribution of $15,000 to go toward helping to promote B.C. unique cultural heritage.

To learn more about the Niagara 2022 Summer Games 13 For 13 Cultural Festival and to apply to be a local market vendor, beer/wine/spirit vendor, culinary vendor or volunteer at the festival, please visit https://www.notl.com/recreation-events/community-initiatives-events.

For immediate alerts, follow the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The event, declared “an event of municipal significance,” is expected to host up to 3,500 people throughout the day.

The Canada Summer Games organizers are touting the 13-event cultural festival being held across the region as a “one-of-a-kind initiative that has never been done by another Canada Games host before.”

The events are being held on evenings from Aug. 7 to 20, “to showcase the unique cultural heritage, entertainment, art, and culinary experiences of each pairing (between municipalities and provinces and territories) during their assigned special night. As we continue to emerge from what has been challenging times, the Niagara Host Society is excited to provide an opportunity for Canadians to come together in celebration of what makes this country so special.”

The first event is this Sunday, Aug. 7, from noon to  10 p.m., when Lincoln teams up with Newfoundland and Labrador for an event at Charles Daly Park. 

It is promising programming that features family activities and live entertainment, including Shanneyganock and LadyLike from Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as homegrown talent, food and drink at an East Coast Kitchen Party with “come-from-away-inspired fare alongside the Niagara Benchlands’ local chefs, wineries, and artisan tastemakers.”

For more information about 13 For 13 events across the region, visit https://niagara2022games.ca/13for13/.

To learn about NOTL’s Aug. 10 events, visit https://www.notl.com/recreation-events/community-initiatives-events