To celebrate Ontario's 150th anniversary, the Sault Community Career Centre, the Downtown Association and the province have joined forces to host a free two-day community event this Friday and Saturday. The Heritage Block Party will showcase local vendors and artisans as well as live theatre and musical performances and a variety of cultural presentations.
Festivities begin Friday at 3:30 p.m. with an opening ceremony at the Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site. Heritage Block Party street activities, which highlight arts and culture, will run from 4 to 8 p.m. on Queen Street between Pim and East Streets. This section of Queen Street will be closed to traffic beginning at 2 p.m. in order to facilitate the event.
The Sault Ste. Marie Museum will stay open late to host a special exhibit on behalf of the festivities, and will be offering free admission to the public.
Saturday, the Heritage Block Party will focus on diversity and innovation with a Culture Days Picnic and the creation of a community mural at Clergue Park led by multidisciplinary artist Rihkee Strapp from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., the NORDIK Institute will host a Young Leaders Forum at the Grand Theatre (641 Queen St. E.). The forum will explore the past, present and future guided by the theme, ‘Unwritten Stories: Youth leaders gather to help create the Indigenous narrative for the next 150 years’. A screening of the documentary Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven will follow at 9 p.m.
All Heritage Block Party events and activities are open to the public and free to attend. For more information about this celebration, please click here.