The 41st annual Downtown Courtenay Market Day and Local Colours Festival this weekend will be a huge affair, with more than 90 vendors in a giant street market.
This Saturday, there’ll be face painting and a bouncer for the children, delicious treats to eat and wonderful things to find in the market. Add to this the extraordinary talents of local artists and entertainers, and you have something for everyone.
Downtown merchants will lay out their best bargains and hidden treasures. Adding to the diversity that Market Day is famous for will be everything from hand-made soaps to fashions, jewellery, pet accessories, baking, kitchenwares, hand-made clothing, shoes, toys, baby things, home and garden furniture, accessories and so much more.
Everything is happening in the city core from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with Fifth Street closed to traffic between Cliffe Avenue and Fitzgerald Avenue.
The Local Colours Festival main stage at the corner of England Avenue and Fifth Street will showcase Backporch Banjo, Larry Ayre, the CYMC Musical Theatre, Original Restoration Jam Collective, Amy Cunningham, Things with Strings, Brodie Dawson, Fifth Bass and Luke Blu Guthrie, all emceed by maestro Shayne Stuchbery.
Tracy Kobus, Carey Anderson, Randy Frank and Grace Wolff are just a few of the 14 visual artists at work downtown, putting the finishing touches to their canvasses and talking about art with onlookers. The Local Colours Festival begins Friday, with the main events happening Saturday.
An added attraction during this year’s event is the Royal Canadian Legion Courtenay Branch’s unveiling of the murals honouring Canadian war veterans.
Lieut.-Gov. Steven Point will officiate at the Jubilee Square beside the Sid Williams Theatre on Cliffe Avenue. The unveiling takes place at 11 a.m. Call 250-334-4322 for more information about the War Memorial.
All these diverse activities create a festival to touch, taste, see, hear and go home with.
Market Day runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Downtown Courtenay Market Day is sponsored by the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association. For more information, visit www.downtowncourtenay.com.
— Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association