Enjoy Thornhill Village Festival this weekend as it turns 40

Two-day event offers entertainment, local performers

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 13, 2016
By Simone Joseph

Turning 40 is a major event in a person’s life; so too is it a major landmark in the life of a community festival.

The Thornhill Village Festival turns 40 this year. The fun is set for this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, and will be held on both sides of Thornhill, in the cities of Markham and Vaughan.

Thornhill Summit Drive will feature midway rides. The festival will also feature: local musicians, a kids’ area, activities for teens, the King’s Royal Yorkers, an art walk, a baking competition, Best Buds (dog costume) contest, a variety of food and a beer garden.

On Saturday, the festival will be held on the Markham side of Thornhill, while on Sunday, it will be on the Vaughan side.

On the Markham side of Yonge Street, organizers are using four streets for the festival but they are not main arteries. They include: Colborne Street, Church Lane, Elizabeth Street and Thornhill Summit Drive. Both Centre Street on the Vaughan side and John Street on the Markham side will be open to traffic all day.

In its 40-year history, this festival has had its share of highs and lows, including bad weather and poor or insufficient funding.

The festival was first organized back in 1977 to bring the two parts of the politically divided community together and use Yonge Street as a unifyer rather than as a divider.

Back in 2010, the festival was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict as the event was scheduled to take place during the key Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

Part of this year's event is a Sunday Thornhill Music Festival at the Thornhill Park right near the Thornhill Outdoor Pool in the Center Street and Yonge Street area on the Vaughan side.

This year's entertainers will include headliner Pop Cherry who has performed at Massey Hall, Mayfly's Landing and Man Made Forest, who have just completed an east coast tour of Canada together in support of their new CDs. Local bands, several of which are based out of Thornhill, will be performing: Rockwell, The Ben Crosby Band, The Cunninghams, The King Beez, Happy Jack and the Rainmakers, Castro Radio, Music Box, Pulse in Tempo, The Generations, TREO, and Talking In Our Sleep.

The Sound Rehearsal studios are sponsoring a VIP area for volunteers, organizers, musicians, media and select dignitaries. About 10 or 12 groups will perform Sunday on two stages - a City of Vaughan stage and a smaller one.

The Thornhill Village Festival is a project of The Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill (SPOHT) and is organized entirely by a community volunteer committee. Go to thornhillhistoric.org/ for more information on this society.