Summer in the City is sure to be a community event like no other. While this is not the first year for the summer festival in Steinbach, it is the first one since the pandemic began two years ago.

The planning committee is working hard and working fast to put all the details in place.

Board Chair Graham Pollock says they have decided to offer a new option for vendors and artisans.

“The one neat twist this year that we've added in is we have a ‘Saturday only’ option for crafters and artisans, and we’ve never offered that before,” Pollock says. “We've always asked our vendors to pretty much stay the whole weekend. But this year we're kind of opening up an area that’s easy access in and out of the festival, and for those vendors that are offering home crafts and things like that that want to set up shop and just only be there for the Saturday, then we're offering that option.”

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Artists in the Tent will include lessons, demonstrations and a lot of creativity.

“And he's just so excited about this year’s festival and I think partly because we haven't had one for a couple years, but more in this is his first year at running the artist tent for the Steinbach Arts Council,” Pollock says.

“And the way he put it was it was like going to be a showcase of visual arts and arts recreation in the community. That's the way he voiced it to me. So, he's pretty pumped about it and they are looking for more artists. All artist applications are welcome, visual artists, photography, painters, pottery, you name it. They're going to have displays and demos and lessons throughout the weekend, so off they're pretty excited.”

May 1st is the deadline for applications for the Artists Tent.

The Steinbach Ministerial Association has partnered with Summer in the City to offer Worship in the City. This is an event that runs on the Sunday of the festival weekend, and it has always attracted a lot of people.

“They're going to be doing a huge Sunday morning service again at the main compound and that's always been pretty successful when they've done that and draws huge crowds,” Pollock reports. “We're going to be doing that and then the afternoon again, there's Christian gospel music. And Jeff, our coordinator for the Worship in the City, is looking for Christian gospel artists that want to perform on stage on the Sunday afternoon to get their applications in. His deadline is May 6. And the applications can be found on our website. So yeah, we're really encouraging any of the performers and bands from that genre of music to get their applications in, get on the stage and let's showcase your talents and share your community spirit with us.”