DESPITE RUMOURS THAT the Thornhill Village Festival may be on hiatus this year, the organizer vows to put on a show.
The annual September street festival should be going into its 33rd year, but York Region won’t let the group set up a roadblock on Yonge Street because of traffic disruptions, says the festival’s organizer.
“We’re trying to salvage something,” said festival chair Rob Stitt. “There’s going to be something, but probably not held on Yonge Street. It’ll be much smaller.”
The festival, put on by the Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill, features craft vendors, entertainment, historical re-enactments, a petting zoo and a parade.
Stitt said they have been working with area councillors to help persuade the region to allow them to use the road. But so far, they’re not budging.
“Markham has been extremely supportive of this festival and wants to see it be successful,” said Markham councillor Valerie Burke. “People really look forward to it, and it’s been a long- standing tradition.”
Stitt said another problem this year is that they’ve booked the festival for Sept. 19, which falls on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. This holiday draws away a good chunk of the area’s Jewish residents.
“The population of Thornhill is much older,” he said. “It’s a core little group that keeps diminishing every year, and we have to rely on students for their community service.”