2024 Welland Food Festival bigger and better

There are a growing number of festivals being hosted each summer across various Niagara locations that cater to a variety of different tastes. In truth, only one is solely focused on your taste buds!

October 5th and 6th, Merritt Island in Welland will play host to the annual Welland Food Fest event, a celebration of culinary delights that attracted an estimated 10,000 people last year. And according to Mark Holmes, Fundraising Chair and Treasurer for the event, organizers are hoping to top that number this year.

“We’re calling this the second annual Welland Food Festival, but its roots go all the way back to 1994,” said Holmes, who was part of the team that relaunched the festival last year. “Over the years the event came and went, came and went. We brought it back last year and it was very successful. We’re expecting more people this year. We’re in this for the long haul.”

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In previous years the festival faced many challenges, including over-extended costs associated with the event and bad timing; it was often scheduled on the same weekend as St. Catharines’ big Grape and Wine Festival event or held on Thanksgiving weekend. The idea to relaunch the festival was driven by Leanna Villella, who took on a leadership role in bringing a new planning committee together. Holmes said the current team behind the Welland Food Fest is much more fiscally minded than previous groups.

“We could go into the event and even if it rains for two days we would break even,” said Holmes. “We had to be aggressive on our sponsorships to be where we are this year. Previous groups didn’t have a backup and entered into the weekend already $100,000 in the hole. Rain or shine this year, there will be a third annual next year.”

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Organizers of Welland Food Fest are the same team that hosts the successful Welland Floatfest event. Building on that track record of previous success, organizers are hoping to appeal as broad an audience as possible by offering a wide variety of music, foods, and activities.

“We hope to appeal to all age groups and all demographics,” said Holmes. “We have a variety of entertainment, from Celtic, rock, country, and blues. We have music of interest to any age group. We have over 40 food vendors this year, including 10 food trucks.

We’ll have everything from Caribbean and Chinese to Italian, plus favourites like pizza, poutine, burgers and more.”

According to Holmes, there is plenty of parking in and around the Merrit Island location, so no matter where people park it’s just a short walk. The island is fully licensed and will have a large area for 19+ visitors. On the other hand, Holmes says anyone can come there and simply enjoy a free weekend of fun.

“You can come spend as much as you want or as little as you want. Even if you just come to enjoy the free live music, it’s a great weekend to spend the weekend.”