OneLove, One Community: Scarborough’s Very Own Festival
OneLove Fest is your chance to start your summer off right. The Boys and Girls Club East Scarborough (BGC East) is hosting a 3 day festival in our very own backyard, complete with concerts, performers, screened soccer matches, activations, food and artisan vendors. Your attendance shows support for Scarborough-born talent and vendors, and your ticket price goes to the clubs' charitable initiatives that impact your community. Not a bad way to spend a weekend.
The Scarborough OneLove Fest is a love letter to the city’s east end. The festival is taking place June 19th-21st at the Toronto Zoo. BGC East has envisioned an event that embodies the culture and spirit of our community. “This 3 day festival highlights Scarborough leaders, artists, performers, the culture and the vibrancy. It embodies this melting pot that exists in our community” says Ashley Abdul of BGC East. She spoke about what makes OneLove Fest the perfect festival for this community. “The ability to showcase the culture and show people the true beauty of Scarborough. What really exists here, the talent, the unity, the food, and the music that [comes through Scarborough].”
Friday’s events include a block party being played by Scarborough DJs and a South Asian cultural showcase. Saturday night is bringing the feeling and vibes of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival right to our doorstep, featuring Caribbean Carnival dancers and performances by internationally known Reggae artists. Sunday hosts a Philippine Independence celebration along with a World Music showcase and more.
Whether you pick one night to attend or all three, the festival has something to offer everyone. Want to bring the whole family? Go for it, it’s an outdoor, family-friendly event with tons of space and activity tables for kids. Soccer fan? You can watch the matches in a shaded area with a bar nearby. Maybe you’re just a foodie or like to shop – they’ve got you covered. “[We] really considered all the different cultures in the community and ensured they’re all represented through the vendors. Different types of food, pastries and snacks. You can pretty much expect everything. It’s almost like a mini food festival and vendor market in addition to the performers, the dancers, and the concerts” says Abdul.
For a festival this big, they had to find the perfect venue and where better than an iconic Scarborough landmark. “The Toronto Zoo is a pivotal space in our community. It’s somewhere we’ve all gone as children, it’s where we take our kids. It’s a safe space, a community space that we’ve always known and always respected” says Abdul.
By attending the festival, you’re supporting a number of worthy initiatives from BGC East such as Be Boundless, a program that allows youth from the community to go on an international trip and visit various parts of Africa. “We hope to give our youth an international perspective and international stewardship experience. We’re also raising funds generally for the clubs' programs and initiatives, so we can continue to create a safe space for Scarborough families and community members” says Abdul.
Scarborough is unique in that our diversity and differences are actually the things that bring us together. The festival celebrates all that it means to come from Scarborough and be proud of it. “A lot of us are immigrants and come from immigrant families, we come together and bond over these different elements. No matter where you go, you can find a piece of comfort because we have that one unified experience of all being from the diaspora” says Abdul. “Being able to understand each other’s experiences and having empathy for each other, I think that really comes through events like this, where you can feel the warmth of community.”
BGC East expects anywhere from three thousand to five thousand attendees at the inaugural OneLove Fest and has plans to keep it up in the future. “It’s definitely going to be recurring” says Abdul. “It’s just the first of many.”
For more information on events or to purchase tickets, visit scarboroughonelovefest.ca
Tickets for the festival are on sale now and are also available at the door.
Written by: Natasha Singh