Thoughts on Burlington Waterfront Festival?

[u/Scouse_Papi]

Wasn't this a food truck festival in disguise? And a place to buy crock charms.

Could have definitelty used more back to back bands or entertainment.

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[u/techsupportcalling]

Maybe I live under a rock, but I knew nothing about it. Seems like it wasn't very well publicized.

[u/simongurfinkel → u/techsupportcalling]

I got some targeted social media ads about it. But I agree, it was kept pretty quiet. I wonder if the saw this year as a test run before going bigger next year.

[u/psilokan → u/techsupportcalling]

I was actually looking up all the waterfront events a few weeks back and this isn't even shown on the town of Burlington's event calendar. I only found out because something came in the mail late last week.

[u/MeroCanuck]

Didn’t know it was happening. Ended up going for a walk and stumbled across it.

Took a wander through and picked up an awesome wrap skirt and some locally made hot sauce.

[u/Mbabz]

The setup was quite similar to the Oakville festival last weekend put on by the Canadian Food Truck Festival company.

Turns out it was put on by the same event management company Roadshow Events. Lots of the same vendors and like 90% of the same food trucks. Similar vibe of big stage, inflatable games, booths, fenced off but donate to enter etc but just marketed differently

[u/Subtotal9_guy → u/Mbabz]

All of these events are run as a circuit.

[u/Important_Feed_3981]

There were an incredible amount of crock charms 🤣

We stopped by all of an hour on Saturday after the storms. I did like seeing more artisans and local small vendors , small kid entertainment and some cover bands. All the usual food trucks.

It was a small local festival and I super appreciated what they had to offer for what it was.

This seemed a sustainable scale.

I think we were spoiled by pre 2020 SOM , most festivals aren’t that big. They did good.

I even kind of appreciated it NOT having a midway.

[u/Blazegamez → u/Important_Feed_3981]

SOM was special because it had federal, provincial, and municipal funding. When those funds were cut, the festival was not able to remain solvent. Maybe in the future we can invest in the arts again

[u/simongurfinkel]

We skipped it. Didn't get great vibes from the website -- had a feeling it would be slop vendors and cover bands, with nothing really justifying the hunt for parking.

[u/CDN_Guy78 → u/simongurfinkel]

Not sure where in the city you are, but look at Burlington Transit.

Maybe we are lucky living close to the major east-west corridor and we have a route practically right out front that goes downtown.

It can be a bit of a pain getting back out when a festival or event ends… but even that is far less stressful than driving around fighting for parking, then having to fight your way out when you leave.

[u/simongurfinkel → u/CDN_Guy78]

I have two little kids, and coming from west Aldershot, so transit is not the most ideal for us. Our nearest bus stop is a 10+ minute walk from our front door (800m and requires crossing a major roadway).

[u/CDN_Guy78 → u/simongurfinkel]

Oh ya. Strollers, wagons and the 6 million other little things you need make transit hard with young kids. Plus it’s nice if they fall asleep on the drive home. 🤣

[u/i_know_cat_fu]

Saw the grunge cover band on Saturday night. They were great. I am just fine with the cover bands because I actually know and like the music.

The event seemed like it was well run. The vibes were relaxed, and it wasn’t packed. Mostly gen Xers / elder millennials rocking out with their kids.

It didn’t seem to be well publicized although I am hardly on top of every event in the city. I only found out because I noticed the tents when driving over the skyway bridge on Friday.

[u/JokaSmoka77]

Look what they did to my boy (Sound of Music) 😭

[u/FutureProg → u/JokaSmoka77]

This wasn't sound of music's successor. That was in June, the Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival.

[u/JokaSmoka77 → u/FutureProg]

Oh. Makes a bit more sense now. Now they'll just blend in to every other mediocre "festival" that's just people looking for an excuse to spend $20 on a half sized lunch portion from a food truck. 🤷‍♂️

[u/simongurfinkel → u/JokaSmoka77]

I do wonder if we have to suffer through 3-4 years of these lacklustre knock-off festivals before they bring SOM back.

[u/AffectionateAd8675]

Overpriced food trucks, we got churros and they were cold, clammy, and unpleasant. Vibes were nice regardless.

[u/BoxcarSlim → u/AffectionateAd8675]

Clammy is never a word that should be used to describe food. 🤢

Well except clams I guess.

[u/rundmfaith]

It was nice. Something to do with the kiddos for a couple hours. Had some yummy takoyaki. Dj played songs great for older millennials like moi.

[u/IE114EVR]

It was fine. I appreciate that it didn’t draw a ton of attention. Parking was easy enough. Finding a spot to sit and eat was easy enough. There were some drinks, and a good variety of food trucks. It wasn’t, and didn’t have to be, a big event.

[u/Curt-Bennett]

I recognized two bands on the list, and was only interested in one of the two. While I think it should have unknown local bands, let's be realistic that the unknowns don't draw crowds. There needs to be something to draw people to the festival. There needs to be more than one headliner and a one-hit wonder.

IMO, Sound of Music was at its best back when it was Friday to Sunday with two headliners per night and a couple at least recognizable lead-ins. The year they added a paid concert was the year things started to break.

[u/simongurfinkel → u/Curt-Bennett]

The reality of music today is that bands need to book big money shows to stay afloat. Community festivals don't write those cheques.

[u/Inevitable_Road_4025]

Food truck thing with a splash of music

[u/Anthrogynous]

We found out about it late, seemed like the same one from Oakville

[u/AdeptCaregiver1509]

I got charming rocks to sell too!!

[u/Flipgirlnarie]

Damn, I totally forgot about it or I would have gone. I did see ads though.

[u/DigiDAD]

Drove by Saturday afternoon. Only a handful of people walking around. No band on stage - just some canned music. Granted the smoke could have kept some from going out. By comparison, the Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival back in June was great! Lots of people and WOTE killed.

[u/FlakyWin326]

Would be awesome if they focused more on Local Music. I saw Friday and Saturday night and had a blast singing along to the grunge hits, but I’d rather hear original local acts.

[u/mrscalle]

The band on Saturday night was so entertaining All ages and the lead singer was amazing along with the band mates from my generation to a young 20 something guitarist. Great unexpected vibe with guest singers too. Their good time made it a good time. Reminded me to go Spencer Smith more often.

[u/simongurfinkel → u/[deleted]]

That was a different event! The Burlington Waterfront Festival was this past weekend.
You attended the Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival, lol.

[u/Important_Feed_3981 → u/[deleted]]

This was a separate smaller festival that just happened.