Rayside-Balfour Heritage Days festival is back in Greater Sudbury
The annual three-day Rayside-Balfour Heritage Days festival has resumed in-person events after two years due to COVID-19.
It began Thursday with demonstrations from Greater Sudbury emergency services at Whitewater Park, followed by live music and fireworks.
Friday night a concert was held at the Chelmsford Arena.
The final day's festivities on Saturday began with a parade that went through the community of Chelmsford, with dozens of people lining the streets.
People in attendance told CTV News that their favourite part of the parade were the old cars.
"I’m having a lot of fun and the old cars was there best part," said one individual watching the parade.
"The sunshine, the fun, the old cars, the new cars, it’s really, really fun," said another.
Once the parade wrapped up, people gathered at a nearby park where they enjoyed outdoor activities, demonstrations by Greater Sudbury Fire Services, a car show, as well as more live music.
Greater Sudbury Fire Services performs demonstrations during the Rayside-Balfour Heritage Days festival. June 11/22 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)
"We have Chansons a Répondre. We have Celtic/Folk/East Coast, Country/Blue Grass, and Rock and Roll," said Gary Mishak, a festival organizer.
"In each of those camps, we have three or four professional artists but we’re inviting artists from all over northeastern Ontario to come in and join them with instruments, sing along, or dance to be part of the experience."
Live music at Rayside-Balfour Heritage Days festival. June 11/22 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)
Throughout the day, organizers estimate roughly 1,000 people came out to enjoy the festivities.
CTV News spoke to some people in attendance who said they’ve been attending the event every year since they were children.
"I’ve been coming here since I was maybe two or three years old. I came out today just to see the kids have fun. It brings back old childhood memories, back in the day when we had western days,” said one attendee.
"My favourite part of being out here is seeing the parade and seeing how the community is coming back together after COVID and everybody getting outside in the fresh air,” said another.
The festival ends Saturday night with another concert at the Edgar Leclair Centre in Azilda.
Organizers said the planning for next year’s event is already underway.
Find more fun things to do in Sudbury with the CTV News Community Calendar.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police investigation underway outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
There is a large police presence outside of Drake’ Bridle Path mansion Tuesday morning.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.