Heritage Festival celebrates Aylmer area’s cultures, history

Bringing local cultures together, the Aylmer and Area Heritage Festival highlights the community’s traditions and history. The festival will run from Friday, September 18 until Sunday, September 20 and is free for visitors to enjoy.

“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from, the event is free and there should be something for everyone,” said Jamie Chapman, chair of the festival.

This year’s heritage festival has many activities planned, highlighting different local cultures.

“We have so many different cultures in this community,” said Ms. Chapman. She wanted lots of representation throughout the weekend, with the Mennonite community playing a big part.

Last week, from Sept. 7 to 13, was Mennonite Heritage Week in Canada. Ms. Chapman said Mennonite Community Services (MCS) is a major part of the festival this year. Kielke, a traditional Mennonite noodle dish, will be served by MCS throughout Friday during the festival.

Saturday has a busy schedule of events, with a vendor market, art showcase, live music and activities planned throughout the day. Most Saturday events will be held at Palmer Park, with one of Ms. Chapman’s favourite events, Indigenous storytelling and drumming, happening there at 10 a.m. She enjoys the stories that are told and loves watching the crowd get involved.

Also on Saturday, six local cultural sites are offering “Beyond the Front Door”, giving visitors a chance to explore different cultural sites.

Each location offers a different experience, with Trinity Anglican Church hosting an art show, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church offering visitors a chance to play its pipe organ and Saxonia Hall showing its museum room. Other participating locations include the Aylmer-Malahide Museum, Aylmer Fire Station and Gay Lea Dairy Museum.

As part of “Beyond the Front Door,” a War of 1812 demonstration will be held at Balmoral Park throughout the day. Participants will share history about the war, as well as fire their muskets.

One of the weekend’s busiest events, the community church service, will start at 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Aylmer Fairgrounds. That event brought in over 1,000 people last year.

Ms. Chapman originally got the idea for a festival in Aylmer during the covid pandemic.

After the lockdown, different people and service clubs were interested in bringing the festival to life. Last year was the inaugural event, with the goal of having different cultures mix, support and learn from each other.

Ms. Chapman said she loves seeing the community come together and volunteer for the event. She said the festival could use more volunteers. Those interested were welcomed to contact her through the festival’s social media pages or directly at her salon.

All activities are free of charge, apart from vendors, food trucks and the Saxonia Hall brunch.