New Venue for the Verona Festival

by Debbie Lingen

The Verona Festival Association is excited to announce a new venue for the 2010 Verona Festival. For the first 14 years, the Verona Festival was held at McMullen Park; however, a steady growth of entertainment, crafts people and attending crowds made a move to a larger venue essential.

The new venue for the recently renamed “Verona Cattail Festival” will be the Lions Club Centre on Verona Sand Road in Verona. This venue offers many significant improvements over McMullen Park. The Lion Club grounds are 50% larger than McMullen Park, allowing the Festival Committee to book more entertainment, to bring in additional unique vendors and craftspeople, and to add enhanced rest areas, making a visit to the Festival even more enjoyable.
The enhanced night time lighting of the Lions Club will allow increased enjoyment of evening entertainment and activities. Handicapped access and facilities will be markedly improved in the new venue. The fully equipped indoor kitchen and canteen will allow a wider selection of food, including a more health conscious menu.
The Lions Club site will also offer greater protection from inclement weather. The new outdoor pavilion and the Lions Club Hall will allow some activities to continue that would otherwise have had to be cancelled in the old venue.

The famous Duct Tape Boat Races and the Soapbox Derby will still be held in their traditional locations at McMullen Beach and the Carleton St hill respectively. The popular Free Methodist Church Pancake Breakfast and the Trinity United Church Fish Fry will be held in the same locations as previous years. Free shuttle service will be provided to all these events.

The change in venue was unanimously approved at the General Meeting of the Verona Festival Association held on March 30, 2010. The Verona Festival Association is an all-volunteer group. New volunteers are always welcome. The next Festival meeting will be Tuesday, April 20 at the Verona Lion’s Club on Verona Sand Road. 7PM. For more information visit the Festival website at www.veronafestival.com or contact Wayne Conway at 613-374-3807.