Up Here Festival & Live Butterfly Release

This weekend featured soccer, urban art, indie music, and monarch butterflies. While seemingly an odd combination, these aspects combined to make an incredible weekend! Chelsea and I started our Saturday at the James Jerome Sport Complex for the Greater Sudbury Soccer Club Fabio Belli Festival. This tournament concluded the season, with all GSSC teams facing off in one last match. We had a blast rewarding some of these little athletes for all of their hard work, with prizes from Toppers Pizza and DQ.

We spent the rest of the day taking in the many sights, sounds, and smells of Up Here Urban Art & Music Festival in beautiful Downtown Sudbury. We started off on Durham Street, where we grabbed delicious meals from the Tuco’s Tacos food truck and one of our favorites, Grill’D Cheese 2 Pls. The front portion of Durham Street had been closed off to make way for the festival’s giant cloth and wood dome, children’s play area, and elaborate seating section. There was a DJ present, whose skills were the perfect finishing touch on the area. We got to share a meal with some music lovers, who scored free play passes to KUPP indoor play center and KUPP lazer tag. After Chelsea got her coveted Up Here mug, we headed over to Memorial Park.

There, we found crafts and games courtesy of the Greater Sudbury Public Library, children’s yoga, and incredible live music. There were so many puppies in the park that day that got even cuter thanks to our custom printed pet bandanas from Tailblazers.  The daughter of one of the library’s representatives, took the time to show us her remarkable bubble-making skills. Chelsea and I were blown away by the giant bubbles she was able to make with string and even just her hands! After giving it a try ourselves, we strolled over to the Downtown Sudbury Market. The market was packed that day with its seasonal vendors as well as live music and art installations. Our favourite part, was finding the little painted house which seemed to be made for us! On our way to the Grand Theatre, Chelsea and I visited different local businesses to enjoy their various art exhibits. On route, we were able to hand out free admission to the KiSS 105.3 Ultimate Summer Throwback IMAX film festival to some of our new friends. At the Grand Theatre, we were able to catch Patrick Watson and his band warming up for their evening performance. Since we weren’t going to be able to make their show, the band was nice enough to perform a few songs just for us!

On Sunday, I took the 2018 Jeep Compass Sport from Mazzuca Chrysler over to Science North to show my support with for the Maison McCulloch Hospice Live Butterfly Release. The event was a beautiful success with so many families present to either release a butterfly, or appreciate the spectacle. I loved getting to hear stories about those being celebrated through the butterfly release. Gary and I both felt honoured to have been included in such a memorable experience. This weekend was incredible, but it was the people we met that truly made it special.