Happy July folks! Hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic Canada Day celebrations that happened all over our area. Kudos to all the volunteers who work so hard to make them happen.
Of course, the big event this weekend is the Mariposa Folk Festival! Happening Friday to Sunday at Tudhope Park, this year things kick off with a downtown Vintage Market from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, throughout Orillia’s downtown.
Combined with this fun and appropriate event, the Mariposa Downtown Stage on Mississaga Street will get started with Rebekah Hawker at 11:30 a.m. Following that, audiences will be treated to Lawrence Maxwell at 1 p.m., Ben Doerksen at 2:30 p.m., and the Downtown Stage will wrap up with Jiggity James at 4 p.m.
If you have Mariposa tickets, the fun gets started at Tudhope Park on Friday with Jessica Charlie at the Pub Stage and Amanda Rheume at the Lightfoot Stage, both starting at 5:10 p.m. Lots of great music all night long on both stages, wrapping up with Bahamas on the Lightfoot Stage at 10:30 p.m. and Union Duke on the Pub Stage at 11 p.m. What a way to get the party started!
Saturday and Sunday, get ready for non-stop music, shopping, eating, drinking, workshops, kids’ fun and more, from 11 a.m. to midnight at this fun-filled family-oriented festival, at the best folk festival venue around. You can check out the full schedule here.
This really is a wonderful weekend and the biggest event in town. You can still get tickets here but they are limited!
Believe it or not, there are some things going on this weekend that aren’t the Mariposa Folk Festival. Braestone Farm in Oro-Medonte is hosting Braestone Farm Summer Market, running Friday to Sunday night from 4 to 9 p.m. There will be lots of amazing vendors with beautiful wares, as well as food items and tons more. Come out to 3288 Line 9 N. and check it out for yourself.
The Simcoe County Theatre Festival kicks off Monday, July 10 and runs until July 21, at Theatre by the Bay in Barrie. This is technically outside my usual location, but hear me out ... there are numerous local actors and directors involved in this, and it’s a great deal, and a great chance to see several shorter plays in a row, expertly done.
Added bonus? All the plays are written by local writers as well!
Here’s how it works: This is a festival of seven short plays written, directed, and performed by artists from across Simcoe County.
With your ticket, you get access to the two or three of the Festival plays (each under one hour) that evening, so make sure you pick the right night if you are looking for specific ones. OR you can catch all seven by purchasing a Festival Pass – be it on one weekend day, or across the span of the Festival. Up to you!
This year, they have also added a family show – Kempenfelt Kelly – that is presented a little earlier in the day. You can purchase a ticket to see just that show with your young ones, or add it to your ticket for that night. There is special child pricing for Kempenfelt Kelly only. You can get lots more details and buy your tickets, here.
Every Monday, all summer long, the Orillia Public Library is presenting free Family Movie Nights in the program room in the library…guaranteed mosquito-free movie viewing! This is a great opportunity to hang out with the family and make some special memories.
This is a drop-in program, running from 6 to 7:30 p.m., no registration required. Here is the lineup for the summer:
- July 8 – Space Buddies (84 minutes, rated G)
- July 15 – Home (94 minutes, rated G)
- July 22 – Lilo & Stitch (85 minutes, rated G)
- July 29 – Toy Story (80 minutes, rated G)
- Aug. 12 – Muppets from Space (88 minutes, rated G)
Thanks to the Rossman Team for sponsoring this very fun program!
Orillia Museum of Art and History’s Gangs, Guns, and Grog, a salty, shady, walking tour of Orillia’s darker side, is running Wednesday nights all summer long, from 7 to 10 p.m. Here’s the downlow on it:
Gangs, Guns and Grog is themed around Orillia in the 1870s, a time in which there was a licensed pub for every 150 citizens and it was legal to carry a loaded and concealed firearm. 1870s Orillia was chaos, and we are so excited to tell you all about it every Wednesday night! Tours will depart from OMAH at 7 p.m. and finish at Couchiching Craft Brewing Co. at 8:30 p.m. where your first drink is included in your ticket price (participants must be over 19 years old).
You can get your tickets here.
Duck Soup Productions presents Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -The Musical, every Tuesday night during the summer, at the Orillia Opera House. Enjoy this quintessential childhood musical with your family this summer! Tickets available at www.orilliaoperahouse.ca.
St. James’ Anglican Church is hosting its popular summer Wednesday noontime recitals again this summer. Wednesday, July 10, enjoy Clement Carelsie, a charming organist from Prince Edward Island.
July 17 brings Rebecca Campbell, soprano, Gary Curran, tenor, and Marney Curran, piano. July 24 features Ronald Greidanus, internationally-renowned pianist and conductor of the Georgetown Bach Chorale. And on July 31, it’s Orillia’s own Marshall Martin, organist par excellence from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Bring your lunch, admission is a freewill donation, and cold drinks are provided.
Quayle’s Brewery is celebrating its fourth nniversary! Join the party Sunday at noon. Enjoy live music, delicious food, and pop-up vendors Beavertails and Lisa Marie's Shaved Ice. Indulge in birthday cake and meet adorable baby elks. Bring the family and join in for a day of celebration and memory-making! The fun continues until 5 p.m.
Live music this weekend? For sure. Jack Farrell Friday, Samantha Windover Saturday, at Couchiching Craft Brewing Co.
Have a great week and if you have arts news, send it to [email protected] by Tuesday at noon to be included.
