Back to SearchDowntown Kitchener will come alive with Kitchener residents Friday evening as they welcome another fun-filled season of events at WelcomeFest! The celebration will introduce the City’s events for the year and some of the highlights to look forward to.
“Our community loves to come together and connect with family, friends and neighbours at the wonderful events in Downtown Kitchener and throughout our city each year,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “This year promises to be bigger and better than ever, with well-loved festivals and concerts, and some brand-new celebrations for everyone to enjoy!”
The season kicks off on May 25 with the Downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area’s (BIA) Palette x Palate festival, a celebration of art, music and food in the downtown core. Our well-loved neighbourhood porch party, Neighbours Day, follows on June 15, with live music and neighbourhood celebrations spread throughout the city. June also sees residents celebrating the diversity of our community at the beloved KW Multicultural Festival on June 22-23.
Canada Day celebrations will return downtown on July 1 with a live open-air concert featuring April Wine, followed by fireworks over Kitchener City Hall. Return to King Street on July 12 to stroll among vintage cars at Cruising on King, and stay for food, drinks, and live entertainment.
Music-lovers will want to mark their calendars because the legendary Tom Cochrane will be coming to Kitchener for Wayback Festival from July 26-27. Take a trip back in time at this live concert with great music over two action-packed days, food, drinks, and good times!
The LoveMyHood Neighbourhood Celebration on July 17 will celebrate LoveMyHood’s remarkable journey with food, music, and family-friendly activities. The highly anticipated Kidspark festival will return for another year on August 18, with interactive fun, music, and creativity spread throughout Victoria Park with something for everyone to enjoy.
This year’s season brings two brand new events! From August 23-24, downtown will come alive with a street party at Caribana Ignite. We’re keeping the summer vibes rolling into September with our newest festival, Endless Summer! On September 7, Victoria Park will be filled with an eclectic mix of musical genres, featuring Juno-award winner TALK.
As we enter the fall, the world’s second-largest Oktoberfest celebration will fill the community with celebration. From September 27 – October 19, don your Tracht, raise a stein, polka around, and enjoy all things Bavarian across the city.
Many of our well-loved community events will return to Kitchener this year, including the tri-Pride Summer Festival on June 1, Kitchener Ribfest and Craft Beer Show from July 19-21, and the Kitchener Blues Festival from August 8-11. There are incredible neighbourhood celebrations and community events happening throughout the summer, so be sure to visit our community events calendar to stay up to date on everything happening in our city this summer.
The City of Kitchener is grateful for the support from our events season sponsors, the Downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Heffner Lexus and Toyota. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for WelcomeFest, and are thankful for our WelcomeFest partners, K-W Oktoberfest and the Downtown Kitchener BIA, who helped bring our events kick-off celebration to life.
Plan a date night, gather your friends, plan a day out for the whole family, or treat yourself to some me-time. No matter how you like to celebrate the season, there is something for you on Kitchener’s events calendar this year!
Plan your summer of fun at kitchenerevents.ca and visit downtownkitchener.ca to stay up to date on everything happening downtown.
For more information, contact:
Bethany Rowland,
Director, Corporate Communications and Marketing
City of Kitchener
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