THUNDER BAY — A local francophone festival hopes to foster inclusivity with a new name.
Centre Francophones announced the rebranding of their annual Franco-Festival, which will be called the Festival BONJOUR going forward. This year's event will be taking place June 5 to 7 at Waverly Park.
Paula Haapanen, community economic developer officer and partnership lead for the Centre Francophone, has goals for this year’s festival.
“We found, when we were doing our market study, that people didn't necessarily feel that that the festival was their place," she said. "And that was a shock to us.”
“Our initial goal, when the festival was created in 2007, was to be a showcase or a place of gathering where people could come and discover what the Francophone community was like,” added Haapanen.
The transition sparks hope for inclusivity and diversity.
“In order for us to really reach that goal we had to shake things up a little bit and change things around,” Haapanen claimed
“We've decided to change our name, to make it a little bit more inclusive. 'Bonjour' — everybody can say it, everybody knows what it means, and everybody knows what it's for,” she added.
Organizers also opted to change the dates of the festival in hopes of drawing in more young people.
“Instead of being in the fall, we brought it into the early summer so that we can get more of the school age kids involved in the planning and the organizing of the festival," said Haapanen.
The event will also feature an educational workshop with Magnus Theatre, Pilates in the park on
“We absolutely have the family day on the Saturday, buskers in the street, food and entertainment all the way through,” said Haapanen.
The main highlight of the festival will be the music, she said, featuring Waali, Montreal-based artist of Haitian descent.
“So, the first night is more about country and rock, the second night's about urban music, and the last night is a big mix that goes from traditional to everything in between,” added Haapanen.
Tickets and information can be found here.
