Another sign fall is coming: Porchfest and CityFolk are here

A past year’s Marvest performance. Photo/Gilles Vezina.

Although it doesn’t officially end until Sept. 23, summer is already over in most people’s minds. The kids are back to school and pumpkin spice lattes are back on sale at Starbucks. Also, Ottawa Porchfest and CityFolk are happening soon.

Porchfest is a festival where local businesses volunteer their porches so local artists/musicians can give free performances — sometimes, porches feature more than one performances at the same time. Dozens of businesses and artists participate each year and the event has happened every September for a few years now. Among some of the businesses lending their space for performances: Vimy Brewing Co., Hintonburg Public House, McCrank’s Bicycle Shop, SuzieQ and Bridgehead on Fairmont. Porchfest starts at 1 p.m. on Sept. 7 and there will be performances through to 9 p.m. You can see the full line-up and schedule on ottawaporchfest.ca.

Meanwhile, CityFolk runs Sept. 12–15 at Lansdowne Park. Mark Monahan, executive director of CityFolk, said in a news release back when the line-up was announced that the festival provides closure for the summer season: “The festival has established an end-of-summer tradition—cottages are closed, kids are back in school—and CityFolk gives people one last chance to enjoy a great outdoor music experience.”

CityFolk also features a sub series of free performances by CityFolk musicians, called Marvest. It takes places Sept. 13 and 14 in venues located along Bank Street in the Glebe.

Enjoy these last festivals before summer is a distant memory!