The Old Town Kemptville BIA is exploring the possibility of a flagship event for downtown Kemptville in the Spring. Bringing a busker festival to the downtown was discussed at the Old Town Kemptville BIA board meeting last week, and the idea of creating a subcommittee to organize the event was put on the table. Executive Director of the Old Town Kemptville BIA, Deron Johnson, has already been talking about the concept with the Municipality, Herb Cloutier from Jamming Around Man Productions, and a company called Orbital Talent Inc., which has experience putting on the Ottawa International Busker Fest.
Deron says the idea is to have a concert on the Friday night, a full day of buskers and other entertainment in the downtown on Saturday, and another concert to end the event on Saturday evening. Although he says the busker fest would have nothing to do with the former Dandelion Festival, he often thinks about how amazing it was to have an event that drew thousands of people into Kemptville’s downtown core. “We don’t need to go that big,” he says. “It could be a scaled down version that could be just as fun and impactful for the community.”
Although still in the very beginning stages, Deron believes this may be just what North Grenville needs as the community recovers from COVID-19. It will also be valuable for downtown businesses by bringing more people to the area. “It’s another opportunity to showcase the downtown,” he says.
