London’s biggest music festival has begun, despite a rainy start Thursday evening.
Victoria Park will host Sunfest for the next three days, showcasing 21 Canadian and 19 international performers, along with almost 200 food and craft vendors.
Alfredo Caxaj, one of the festival’s co-artistic directors, said that every year is a huge accomplishment for the Sunfest team.
“This is a tremendous encouragement for us to keep going, and be prepared for the next one,” he said.
“In the meantime, we have to focus on this weekend. What we want is that at the end of the festival, people can say, ‘Oh my God, we had an amazing time at Sunfest.’”
Sunfest will feature bands from countries around the world, including South Korea, Mexico, Colombia, Ukraine, Spain, and Poland.
“Ninety per cent of all the artists are totally brand new artists who are touring Canada for the very first time, or artists who are coming to London for the very first time.
He said that while the performances are the biggest attraction at the festival, the wide range of food and craft vendors draws people in, too. He called this a “mini-festival within a festival.”
Sunfest has become something of a London staple, drawing in 110,000 unique visits last year.
“It’s beautiful, because not only are we showcasing so much through the diversity in the festival, but at the same time, it’s something that is capturing the attention of many, many, many visitors.”
In the years since it began, Sunfest has grown exponentially. Caxaj said the festival started with around 3,000 visitors.
“We started seeing the growth of the festival year by year, and I think 10 years ago, the festival really took off to a different level.”
Shawn Roberson, one of the heads of Sunfest safety patrol, has been working with Sunfest since its second year. He said the festival’s growth over the years has been huge.
“It’s hard to explain how big it’s gotten. We have so many vendors now and the crowds just absolutely pour in.”
Over 500 people will be volunteering at Sunfest this weekend in order to ensure the music festival runs smoothly and safely.
As for the future, Caxaj plans for the 30th year to be a big expansion year for Sunfest.
“One of the big plans is precisely the expansion of the festival with two or three more different stages into the downtown core,” he said.
“Of course, that means bringing more artists from all over the world and making something really outstanding, as a way to celebrate 30 years of being active in this community.”
Sunfest will run July 6-9, rain or shine. More information about the event can be found on the Sunfest website.
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