The 2018 Canada Day Together Festival will feature a culturally-diverse line up of performers, artisans and experiences for all ages to enjoy! In just its third year, the Together Festival is pulling out all the stops to build on the success of our wildly-successful Canada 150 celebration.
Our 2018 Entertainment, Activities Line-up and Food Offerings will be announced soon. For now, the following information on this page refers to the 2017 festival.
We are delighted to welcome back Mississauga's own Randy Persaud as the Master of Ceremonies at the 2018 festival.
ENTERTAINERS - 2017
Toronto-based R&B sensation JRDN has written and recorded a collection of songs certain to cement his reputation as one of Canada’s brightest stars.
JRDN’s 2010 breakthrough album, IAMJRDN yielded the Certified Gold singles ‘U Can Have It All’ and ‘Like Magic,’ which received the 2012 SOCAN Urban Music Award and went to #1 on the Much and MuchMore Music video charts. Both were huge crossover hits that made the Top 20 on multiple Canadian radio formats and landed JRDN an opportunity to perform ‘U Can Have It All’ at the 2011 JUNO Awards.
The Canada Day Together Festival is thrilled to have JRDN as our feature performer on the festival stage immediately before the spectacular fireworks show at 10 pm.
Ballroom Babies
The Ballroom Babies are a rock trio from Mississauga consisting of three brothers: Mike (drums/vocals), Steve (guitar/vocals) and Nathan (bass/vocals). In September 2013, the band released its first full length record, Change To Silver. The 15 song album has a rock undertone complimented by harmonies and aggressive guitar riffs. 2014 was a year of recognition and progress for The Ballroom Babies. The Mississauga Arts Council recognized the band’s efforts by awarding them the title of “Emerging Performing Artist” at the annual MARTY awards ceremony.
Alessia Cohle
Fresh off her successful, packed-house, Talk To Me, album release show and radio tour, Alessia Cohle has been putting her own stamp on country music. This multi-talented singer, songwriter, and recording artist from Mississauga teamed up with award-winning producers on the creation of her first full-length album, Talk To Me. Alessia released her debut EP, Let’s Get Gone, in June 2015, introducing her to the country music scene and capturing the hearts of country music fans with her breakthrough single, Sunday Shoes. The single hit airwaves across country radio in both Canada and the United States. The song made the Top 3 Finalist on Music Road Radio’s “Top 30 New Artists Countdown” for 12 weeks, as well as featured on KX96’s Hot 30 Countdown.
Sooriana Group
Sooriana Group is a Syrian cultural performance group, established in 2014 by Syrian Canadian students who wanted to express their love for Syria and preserve the Arabic culture in the West. Sooriana Group provides professional services for all kinds of events by offering a variety of high-energy performances. Sooriana combines both traditional Middle Eastern music with modern music, exhibiting thrilling shows for all types of cultures and audiences.
The Southdowns
The Southdowns are an independant rock band from Mississauga, inspired from a number of musical backgrounds - Blues, Hard Rock, Southern Rock and Country Music among a few. The Southdowns were recently formed in 2016 when lead singer Jeff Vetere brought his former John Fraser Secondary School bandmates (formerly known as Ironic Twist, circa 1994) back together with another old friend, Joe Bosi. While their music immediately stands out with heartfelt lyrics, melodies and strong riffs, their sound is distinctly unique due to the union of diverse bandmember influences.
Sohail Rana
We are so thrilled to invite internationally-acclaimed singer and composer Sohail Rana to the festival stage. The Music Maestro is a living legend among the Pakistani community having scored music for 24 full feature films over his multi-decades long career. He is recipient of several national and international awards including Pride of Performance(1981) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (2012) from the Government of Pakistan and Peace Messenger Awared (1987) from United Nations. He has traveled and performed around the world, including Sydney Opera House, Paris and New York and now calls Canada home. (Full bio)
Associação Cultural do Minho de Toronto
The Associação Cultural do Minho de Toronto folkloric group has represented the Region of Minho with its dances, songs, diversity of costumes and authenticity. Consisting of both adults and children, this group has travelled to various Canadian cities, United States and Portugal. An invitation to perform at the Festival of Communities of Romaria da Sra. D’Agonia was also received from Viana do Castelo’s City Hall in northern Portugal.
Bharatham Dance Academy
This dance school, based in Mississauga, trains kids and adults at all levels and all background and offers customized training for special needs kids and seniors.
Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone
Based in Toronto, Aqua, the singer, hand-drummer and songwriter also known as Nibii Waawaaskone (Water Flower), crafts music reflecting her deep respect for Indigenous traditions. Aqua has released two recordings: Hand Drum Stories (Feb. 2016), and the four-song EP, Spirit Music (2014), Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone is based in Toronto.
ACTIVITIES
Fireworks
Beginning at 10 p.m., a spectacular fireworks display, set to music written and sung by some of Canada's most well-known artists, will light up the night sky - a truly awe-inspiring way to conclude a wonderful celebration of Canada's 150th birthday!
Escape Room - the Final Frame
The Canada Day Together Festival welcomes Escape North Challenge to operate a mobile Escape Room on site during our festival!
This Escape Game is a real world physical puzzle adventure. Your team will be ‘locked in’. Using elements of the space you will need to solve a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the scenario within the time limit.
The Festival will run four games throughout the day. Cost to play is free! Teams will consist of exactly six players (smaller teams will be combined). Reservations can be made in advance - space is limited so book your spot early.
Tile-Painting Project
A unique project, called "I Am Canada," will give local residents the chance to paint a 4x4-inch tile with words or pictures describing what Canada means to them. To find out more about how you can participate, please click on this separate page we have dedicated to this project.
Cultural Fashion Show
A feature of our mid-afternoon program will be a South Asian fashion show presented by Nargis Ladak Fashion Boutique. Discover the latest fashion trends and enjoy many beautiful suits and dresses on our 'festival runway'.
Historical Reenactment
Thompson's Company (2nd regiment of York militia) will be on hand in the early afternoon to perform a reenactment of the War of 1812. You won't want to miss this realistic re-telling 0f an important part of Canada's past.
All Masters Martial Arts and Lion Dance
The All Masters Martial Arts Centre is a traditional Kung Fu club that offers training in several systems of Shaolin Kung Fu. The school has two fully equipped studios open 7 days a week located in Mississauga.
All Masters Martial Arts Centre is perfect for those who wish to relax, build confidence or protect oneself. The school's method of training at each individual's level makes All Masters an excellent choice for members of all ages, genders, sizes and strengths. All Masters Martial Arts Centre has been in Canada for 40 years. Grandmaster Augustin Ngu (9th degree), the head instructor and founder of All Masters, has 50 years experience teaching Kung Fu including Shaolin White Crane, Wing Chun (Ving Tsun) and Northern Shaolin (Cha Chuan), each style is balanced between both the external and internal arts.
We are proud to announce that the All Masters Lion Dance Team was awarded the high honour of being chosen as “Best Group Performance” by the Mississauga Arts Council on May 7, 2015.
Grandmaster Ngu was also given honourable mention at the Mississauga Arts Council MARTY’s Award for the Laurie Pallet Award in recognition of his many years of hard work and dedicated service.
FOOD
A Variety of Flavours
Come and sample a wide assortment of delicious food, snacks and beverages. Some food is free, most is priced affordably. Here is the growing list of food vendors taking part in TogetherFest:
- Alb Softy Ice Cream
- Sizzlo's
- BBQ Times
- Sugar Rush Treats
- Thai Cuisine Experts
- Sweet Sweet Corn
- Starbucks
- Britannia Italian Bakery
- Panago Pizza
*subject to change