North Canton Main Street Festival to Celebrate 15th Year

has always focused on food, music and family-friendly activities, and you can expect the same thing this year, only bigger and better. 

It was a finalist in the 2010 Best of Stark competition, after all, and the planners and supporters  behind this year’s event intend to live up to that honor.

“The festival has remained a one-stop, family-friendly destination for food, rides, music, crafts, arts, cars and community and business information,” said Doug Lane, president of .

“Changes and improvements over the years have included consolidation of booths by category, additional entertainment and a bigger variety of available food,” Lane said.

One of the main highlights this year will be the music. There will be three stages of alternating (sometimes simultaneous) entertainment: One stage is sponsored by (SMI), and will be set up at , the second stage will be set up at the  and the third stage will be on the patio.

The impressive lineup includes: , Camarata Brass Quintet, Gli Italiani, Camp Jukebox, Instant Replay and Kool Nights Band.

Through the Support of SMI, American Idol runner-up Casey James will take the stage Saturday evening, and local favorite Ryan Humbert will wrap up the festivities on Sunday evening.

There will be several other musical activities taking place on the YMCA patio as well.

, North Canton Chamber’s outreach manager, is also excited about another new addition to this year’s festival — the bike corral.

This year there will be a secure bike corral encouraging attendees to ride their bikes to the festival. This free service is possible through a partnership with Stark Parks and the Stark County Bicycle Club. 

“We hope that it is widely used from a 'green' perspective, and because we are fortunate enough to have many neighbors who live a very bikeable distance from Main Street,” Weyrick-Cooper said. (There will be more information about the bike corral on the Chamber’s website in the next few weeks.) 

Some other event highlights include splatter painting for children, two car shows, an autograph appearance from Home Improvement’s Richard Karn, a Kid Fit session for children followed by an entertaining drum circle led by and a pooch parade with contests and fun for dogs and canine-loving humans.

Not only can attendees participate in these fun activities, but they can also visit some of their favorite local businesses, browse for unique crafts, learn about their favorite nonprofits and maybe adopt a new four-legged furry friend.

Yep, this year festival attendees can meet homeless animals from the Stark County Humane Society at the ForPaws booth.

The Main Street Festival will take place on Aug. 20 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and Aug. 21 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information on a list of scheduled events and pre-festival events, visit the Chamber’s festival schedule here.

The festival would not be possible without the generous support of , Aultman Health Foundation and many other members and supporters of the North Canton Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the city of North Canton and the North Canton YMCA. 

The event takes a lot of planning and starts the day after the previous year’s festival, Lane said. 

After all the tedious planning, Alane Tullius, the North Canton Chamber’s office manager, is excited to see the final outcome.

“One of my prime functions leading up to the festival is handling all the paperwork for the food vendors, crafters/artisans, nonprofits, the merchant tent, entertainment contracts, insurance, rental of tents, tables, porta-johns, rides and the million other details that need to be handled,” Tullius said. 

“Seeing it all come together that weekend is like seeing all the pieces of a puzzle fit together.”

While they are thankful for all the help in the planning stages, the Chamber is still in need of many more volunteers to help at the event. There are shifts as short as two hours. If you are able to volunteer some time to this wonderful community event please contact Weyrick-Cooper here.