Friendsapalooza Festival: A Day of Free, Inclusive Family Fun at Kelso Beach in Nawash Park on July 5
The new family-friendly festival in Owen Sound was built by local parents as a day where every family and individual feels welcome. Feats. 100 vendors, music, food trucks and more — free to attend.
Friends Britt Dawson from Owen Sound and Jess Degagne of Tara kept running into the same issue at community attractions and events: their children, who are neurodivergent, didn't feel the experience was built for them.
So the women decided to build one themselves. What started as an effort to create that good day for their own families has grown into the inaugural Friendsapalooza Festival — a free, family-focused and sensory-friendly community day happening at Kelso Beach in Nawash Park on Sunday, July 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The day is designed to bring families, local businesses and community organizers together for a fun, inclusive day out. Admission is free, thanks to local sponsors and an on-site vendor fair.
What’s happening Sunday
Organizers say the festival will feature roughly 100 vendors, including food trucks — some local and others travelling from as far as Waterloo — and a food alley set up with picnic tables.
Storytime with Grandma Carol will spotlight local books and authors, and musicians including Matty Sings, Jeff Blackwood, Robert Goldie and Joseph Gumiela are booked to perform. Petunia the Clown is also slated to appear.
Costumed character mascots will roam the park, along with face painting and a treasure hunt. Many of the booths are interactive and built around games. The N/A race team — Peyton Lewis and Nathan Dettwiler from Full Throttle Motor Speedway — will bring their cars, and St. John Ambulance will be on site.
Parking is available at the entryway to Kelso Beach, and public washrooms and portable toilets will be on site.
More than a kids’ day out
Alongside the entertainment, the organizers have lined up local agencies to host interactive booths: Special Olympics Ontario, Autism Ontario, Canadian Traditional Scouting, Journey Centre of Grey, EarlyON, M’wikwedong and Owen Sound Fire.
“We want people to get to know there are resources here they may not have known about,” Dawson said. “There are a lot of children’s activities, but a lot of things adults can enjoy, as well.”
The point, she said, is that the need for help, support, and even just social time together in Grey Bruce isn’t limited to kids.
“We just want the whole community to come together, have a fun day — and then do it again next year,” she said, noting that the site is already booked again for 2027.
Dawson said the festival has been built almost entirely on what vendors and partners contributed.
She said she hopes for a large turnout to enjoy the festivities and support those businesses who made this possible. “Everything we got from the vendors, we’ve put back into the festival,” she said, pointing to costs including the hawkers and peddlers licence, site rental, and sanitation.
Community sponsors include Owen Sound Hyundai, SunLife and Rob Scribner, Harrison Park Inn, Owen Sound Kia, Shouldice Stone, 92.3 FM Zoomer Radio, and J&M Disposal in Chatsworth.
Friendsapalooza is still looking for volunteers to help the day run. Dawson said lunch vouchers are available to volunteers who can assist with vendors, info booth setup and teardown, entertainment support, the prize table and lunch distribution. Students can earn community service hours.
Anyone interested can reach the organizers at friendsapaloozafestival@gmail.com.
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