Saint John is the place to be in New Brunswick for the long weekend.
The port city has a number of events taking place headlined by a pair of festivals taking place next door to each other; the Area 506 Festival and the International Culture Fest.
“This is what we’d consider to be the crown jewel of the whole plan,” says Area 506 founder Ray Garcewood on the music festival. “We’ve had the container village open since late May, Boxcar Country Festival was a great success, and I think the buzz around the city right now is electric.”
“This is our largest project each year,” says Lorne Daltrop, the director of the International Culture Fest. “It’ll be a great experience, bring your family bring your friends, come down and see what we are all about. It will be an experience you will not forget.”
The Area 506 Festival has become a staple in Saint John, with headliners this year including the Sheepdogs, Billy Talent and Metric. The music festivities run from August 4 to 6 with tickets available on Area 506’s website.
The International Culture Fest, now in its fifth rendition, takes place next door to the music festival, leading to the closure of Water Street for Saturday and Sunday.
“It has become one of the largest multicultural festivals in New Brunswick,” Daltrop says. “We have international street food vendors, craft vendors, and a cultural village made up of 17 different ethno-cultural communities here in Saint John.”
The festivals work in partnership, with performers from the culture fest using the stage inside the container village throughout the weekend.
“We had 5,000 people last year on our own for our festival,” Daltrop notes. “And they are going for 4,000 people a night so between the two festivals we are hoping we can attract a lot of people into uptown Saint John.”
“Music, culture and food, that’s what we have always stood for since we began,” Gracewood says. “Working with a great group that also brings in a whole breath of fresh air and we can close down Water Street and really focus on that culture activation.”
Maria Negreira and Amelia Desilets were both born in Saint John but now reside on the west coast. Being back in the city for a busy weekend is exciting times.
“This is the first time being here seeing all of [the container village] even happening down here,” Negreira says. “It’s kind of amazing to see how much uptown Saint John has grown over the last few years.”
“It’s really good,” says Desilets.” I like it here.”
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon notes how busy the city was the weekend prior with the Boxcar Country Music Festival taking place. She is looking forward to even more action and invites everyone to join the fun.
“We’ve got, really, the best restaurant cluster I would say in the province,” Mayor Reardon gleams. “We have a great entertainment sector here so I think there is lots to do. I say everyone come down to Saint John and stay for the weekend and really get to know us and have a good time.”
The City of Saint John will hold a fireworks display Monday night, weather permitting, to commemorate New Brunswick Day. The display is a makeup for the display that was suppose to light up the night’s sky on Canada Day but was cancelled due to fog.
