A new musical festival is coming to the streets of Downtown Belleville.
The first Downtown Blues Festival is set to take place on September 9, and will consist of a day of live music and blues-themed activities and workshops.
Admission to the festival is free, but the festival will be collecting donations for Gleaners Food Bank, to help them support community members amid rising food insecurity.
The September event will start with an 11 a.m. presentation “How we got the Blues” going over history of the genre. After that the Shawn Dore Big Blues Band will perform at market square between 12:30 and 3:30. Theatre in the wings will host a harmonica workshop with Toni Vani starting at 2 p.m., and a slide guitar workshop with Matt Smith at 3 p.m.
The event’s grand finale will involve closing a part of Front Street between Victoria and Campbell streets for an evening performance by the Brian Legere Blues Band at 5 p.m. and the Jack de Keyzer Band at 7 p.m.
Gleaners volunteers and food bins will be present at all locations to accept donations.
Suzanne Quinlan, Director of Operations for Gleaners, said that the food bank was already over budget for food purchases in 2023, before the end of March.
“Currently Gleaners Food Bank is taking some key items out of the food bank. So coffee and tea has bit the dust, canned meats bit the dust, KD bit the dust, because we can’t afford to buy them,” said Quinlan. “If it’s donated, it’s great, but if not, it will not be going into the hamper – the cost is too high currently.”
Quinlan said donations are important as Gleaners saw a 50% increase in demand for food aid over 2022.
