A celebration of all things The Ward is coming.
'Praise the Ward' will go Sunday, Sept. 24, and organizers are looking to the public to see what else should be a part of the festivities.
"I've been thinking about it for, since before COVID, really," said James Gordon, who is leading the charge on the effort.
The longtime Guelphite and former city councillor said he's lived in The Ward for seven or eight years, and took notice of the neighbourhood's unique character, from the history, to the architecture, demographics and the artisans and musicians living there.
"I (thought) wouldn't it be fun to have a celebration that focused just on this area, which would help enhance the character that we already know The Ward has, but I think let people revel in that for a day," he said.
So Gordon put the idea to work, and applied for a micro-grant from the Guelph Arts Council and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition.
He was also able to get Guelph Arts Council president Braden Phelan on board, and the two held a meeting late last week.
"We're sort of getting a vision together, but we would like it to be collaborative too," Gordon said.
To that end, he's asking for volunteers to come up with ideas of what could happen, and "make it the coolest day it can be."
At the moment, it's being touted as a community celebration, featuring concerts, workshops, food and arts and crafts vendors.
"We want to hear from people," Gordon said. "Even just sharing stories because we want to include stories, maybe walking tours, and I want to know as someone who's taking an initiative with it that I'm not leaving anybody out or any group out or any historical details out."
Gordon said the Double Rainbow Cafe at 60 Ontario St. will act as a hub for the event.
The vision, he added, is to celebrate artists and the interesting locations.
"In the day, there would be small events in some of the spaces," Gordon said, later on adding there are many resources to draw on, and hopes to coordinate with.
At night, the hope is to have a culminating concert at a place like the Guelph Little Theatre.
He said if all goes well, he'd like it to become an annual event.
Anyone looking to help is asked to contact Gordon via email.