Hot and humid or wet and windy, London’s 22nd annual TD Sunfest is ready for a busy weekend no matter the weather.
The popular festival has been running since 1995, and draws more than 225,000 people to Victoria Park, according to Sunfest Artistic Director Alfredo Caxaj.
Caxaj has been with the festival since the very beginning, and has seen it grow every year.
"The first edition was 1995, we had probably about 15-20 vendors. We have about 12 bands and we started with very minimal budget,” says Caxaj. “Today, for example, we have close to 300 vendors. We have somewhere between 35 to 40 groups that come from all over the world every year. We have 5 stages, two of those being main stages. So it's been a substantial growth, for sure."
He is excited for the weekend’s festivities, and is expecting a big turnout based on their successful first day on Thursday.
"We're anticipating huge, huge crowds for the rest of the weekend. Especially for Friday night,” Caxaj says.
The four-day festival is known for bringing people from all over the world together.
"It's not only just one more event in the park,” says Caxaj. “It’s a festival with a vision, and the vision is, 'bring everyone together and celebrate our diversity of cultures.'"
The vendors are also excited for this weekend, especially 11-year-food-veteran Joseph Alexander, owner of Triniman Kitchen.
"Every year it gets bigger and bigger. I think [Thursday] was a record-breaking crowd because it was insanely busy,” says Alexander.
Alexander is a success story for Sunfest, as he first started serving food 11 years ago, and found it so popular, that he was inspired to open a permanent restaurant.
"They love me, they wait for me once a year. But now that I have a restaurant, it's even better,” Alexander says.
Alexander believes that this weekend will be very successful, and can’t wait to serve his food to eager patrons.
"I think we will have a massive turnout for this weekend. It's going to be crazy,” says Alexander.
The food vendors aren’t the only ones who are preparing for the weekend crowd.
Thomas Amoah, owner of TheSheaButterMan Shoppe, has been with the festival since day one, and knows a good year’s turnout when he sees one.
"I'm looking forward to it being a very successful weekend for everybody. Not we the vendors, for the public coming to enjoy the weekend as much as they can,” says Amoah.
He remembers the first Sunfest, however small, and the impact it had on Londoners.
"It was a dream come true for people of London. They really enjoyed it,” Amoah says.
Although thunderstorms are expected for Friday and Saturday, the 300-person army of Sunfest staff and volunteers are preparing for any scenario Mother Nature may throw at them.
The festival runs until Sunday, from 11:30am to 11pm daily at Victoria Park.
**This story was written by Samuel Gallant. Samuel is a student in the Fanshawe College broadcast journalism program. He is performing a summer internship with Blackburn News.**
