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Eric Bunnell's People: Chamber set to host the Love Local Block Party

A new community shindig is set to go Friday, June 19, at the Westlake Evans Park on Curtis Street

Good things can and do happen over an imbibe of a favourite beverage.

“We were just actually hanging out one night at From the Vines – From the Vines and Caps Off Brewing are right beside each other – and we were talking about how cool it would be to have some kind of party,” says Lindsey Massecar, providing some background.

Eric Bunnell's People: Chamber set to host the Love Local Block Party Back to video

And resulting from that wouldn’t-it-be-great chatter is the Love Local Block Party, set for 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday next, an all-welcome celebration of local culture and diversity sponsored by the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce, where Lindsey is event and experience manager.

“I went to Paul (Jenkins), who is our CEO here, the next day and said we should have a block party, and he said, ’Let’s do it!’”

Many Chamber events focus on the business community, but this shindig is for everyone.

“This one is just more of a community-focused event. We want to show St. Thomas that the Chamber brings a lot to our business community, and also that we want to contribute to the community as well.”

The featured venue for the evening is the Westlake Evans Park on Curtis Street, next door to St. Thomas Public Library. The park is a gem, Lindsey says.

“I don’t think that people realize how many cool spaces exist in the city.”

Curtis Street will be closed, and the party will also include From the Vines and Caps Off, which are on Curtis but opposite the park.

Bevvies and bites are on the agenda, of course, as well as local vendors and entertainment. Malachi Male and Big Lou are to turn up the hip-hop beat (Choclair, who was advertised, had to bow out), and the evening’s showcard also includes Indigenous and South Asian dance.

And if’n you’re going to paint the town red, it ain’t a party until something gets painted, right?

Artists from the STEAM Education Centre have laid out a four-by-12-foot StT-themed mural for partygoers to flesh out with texture and colour. There’s no home yet for the giant artwork, but the Chamber is working on that.

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