THIS weekend’s Lake Mac Heritage Festival at Toronto promises to be a treat for the senses.
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While classic boats and vintage and veteran cars will again be the stars of the show, this year’s festival will also feature buskers and a feast of dining options.
“There will be a range of food stalls including Greek, Spanish and Turkish food, wood fired pizza, slushies and ice-cream. Wangi Men’s Shed will also be cooking a tasty barbecue,” event coordinator Nicole Charlesworth said.
The festival has become an Easter tradition, attracting hundreds of local families and holiday-makers to the Toronto foreshore every year.
The main focus of the weekend is classic boats – that is, boats designed before 1975.
Everything from speed boats to yachts and steam boats will be on show around the Toronto baths.
There will also be a display of restored vessels in static displays on the foreshore.
The festival will be launched on Friday with a meet and greet dinner for participants at Toronto Amateur Sailing Club from 6pm.
On Saturday, market stalls will open at 9am with the official festival opening at 10am.
A formal festival dinner will be held at Toronto Workers Club at 6.30pm.
On Sunday, the classic vehicle display starts at 9am.
A highlight of the Sunday program will again be the Quick ‘n’ Dirty boat building competition.
Contestants are given plywood and other boat-building supplies, and invited to design and build a vessel to race around a course in the bay.
Often it is the spectacular failures that win the crowd’s support.
Anything goes during the race, with flour bombs the weapon of choice for many participants as they seek to get an edge on their rivals.
Contestants will start building their boats at 10am, with the race scheduled for 1.30pm.
A sail past and blessing of the fleet will be held at 3pm, with the flag lowering at 4pm.
Over the weekend, Wangi Artists Group will stage an exhibition at Toronto Amateur Sailing Club, and Lake Macquarie Historical Society will present a display in its headquarters at the old Toronto railway station.
There will also be a vintage farm machinery display, an Easter egg hunt for children at 10.30am on Sunday, and a performance by the City of Maitland Pipes and Drums on the jetty at 2.45pm on Sunday.
