Festival names new head

Eric Morse –

After steering an uncertain course for the past two years, the Cabbagetown BIA has undergone some significant changes in organization, as has the Cabbagetown Festival, scheduled this year for Sept. 6 and 7.

Effective May 19 David Blackmore has been appointed executive director of the BIA, coincident with the reopening of the renovated BIA office at 237 Carlton St.

Blackmore was founder in 1979 and for several years executive director of the Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre, and from 2009-2012 director of the UforChange youth arts project. He was on the board of the BIA for some years after its founding, and chaired the Festival parade for part of that time.

Concurrent with Blackmore’s appointment, the BIA has decided to retain a professional event coordinator for the festival. Lido Chilelli has worked on events organization for thirty years. Over the course of the summer he will have organized the Wasaga Beachfest June 21 and 22, the Q107 Canada Day Picnic, the Afro Fest July 5 and 6, the Waterfront Blues, the Beaches International Jazz Festival, and finally the Cabbagetown Festival.

At a briefing for BIA and community members June 18, Blackmore and Chilelli outlined the main elements of the 2014 festival. Minus the parade–which was traditional until three years ago and which Blackmore explained was not popular among vendors because it forced them to postpone setup until after it was over–the festival will maintain its familiar look and feel with a few changes.

Chilelli noted that studies show that the average festival-goer has tended to visit the business area for about three hours; the format changes are designed to increase that.

Community icon Blair’s Run will move from its traditional Saturday morning slot to Sunday morning (what impact the equally iconic festival hangovers will have on performance is an unknown unknown at this point).

For the first time, the festival will have a media sponsor: Global TV. The BIA office on Carlton St. will be action central for media. Chilelli estimates the value of the sponsorship at around $200,000.

There will be both opening and closing ceremonies (Saturday at noon and Sunday at 6 p.m.) at the northeast corner of Carlton and Parliament streets. Blackmore assures The Bulletin that the age-old and venerated ritual of the Cutting of the Cabbage will be enacted in its due and proper form after two straight years of solid downpours have shown what happens when it isn’t.

A strong lineup of entertainment over both days on restaurant patios and festival stages. As usual, Parliament St. will be blocked for both days between Wellesley and Carlton streets. Performances will be extended till 10 p.m. on Saturday. There will be no main stage this year; performances will be distributed through the area of the festival on Parliament St.

There will be a Kids’ Zone, Sports Zone and midway at Parliament and Gerrard.

As in past years, the Festival is the epicentre of a constellation of other cultural events in Cabbagetown, including Thursday’s Taste of Cabbagetown and Friday’s 22nd Annual Cabbagetown Short Film and Video Festival at Winchester St Dance Theatre. Saturday and Sunday will feature an arts and crafts sale in Riverdale park with live 30-minute performances by the Cabbagetown Theatre Company in the Chapel at the Necropolis in the afternoon. Sunday will feature the Riverdale Farm fall festival and the iconic Cabbagetown Tour of Homes.

In a prepared statement, BIA chair Frank Bernardo said, “What I have always loved about this festival is that there is something for everyone and the sheer diversity of the festival speaks to the diversity of Cabbagetown. It exemplifies what makes Cabbagetown unique and why it is such a great destination for families, tourists and business.”

For information, visit www.oldcabbagetown.com.