Amherstburg event succeeds by being different

The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival attracted hundreds of people this past weekend, in spite of the cooler, rainy weather. 

The gathering, in its second year, is dedicated to everything Victorian-era steampunk, with features including a costume contest, haunted house tours and escape rooms. Harry Potter is also emphasized.

“We were just looking at the landscape of our downtown community and its rich, Victorian architecture and its rich British history and we were trying to think of an event that would complement that. We thought that Harry Potter definitely complemented it with [magic] and we also felt that steampunk did as well,” said Amherstburg Tourism co-ordinator Jennifer Ibrahim on the origins of the event. “Both tap into the history of our community.”

Ibrahim also said the festival allows Amherstburg to branch out from the image it gives to most people. 

“I think Amherstburg is always thought of as a historic town, and I think this festival really brings a fun element to our history. I think people enjoy that in a little bit of a different light.” 

A large part of the event is the performers, including circus sideshow Carnival Diablo, a flea circus and Windsor magician Ron Gudel. Ibrahim credits her staff for securing these acts for the festival. 

“Our staff is very seasoned in the event industry, so…all of us bring a number of contacts and knowledge to the table. But we also take industry standards into consideration and we’re always learning and evolving with trends within the tourism industry.” This includes attending Festival and Events Ontario conferences to meet with new acts or approaching performers found at other festivals in the region.

People at the festival on Sat. Sept. 28 shared their views on what makes the Uncommon Festival different. 

“What I like about it is that it’s on the waterfront. It’s also local, so people from Canada don’t have drive all the way to Windsor. It’s more accessible,” said Dante Pannunzio, 14. 

“I just happened to see the event in a magazine and I thought it looked like a lot of fun…So we thought ‘Let’s just do it and check it out.’ We’re really enjoying ourselves, a lot of unique craftspeople here, unique experiences, theatrical kind of things that you wouldn’t see at a normal festival,” said Andrea Niven-Pannunzio, 54.

The event’s differences earned Amherstburg Tourism the Best New Festival award from Events and Festivals Ontario in February of this year.

 “A lot of festivals will have craft centers or entertainment centers, but we really feel in this day, STEM [science, technology, math, engineering] is so important for our youth and engaging them in that. STEM really marries well with steampunk, because steampunk is about innovation and the theme was really echoed throughout the festival,” said Ibrahim on what she thought allowed the Uncommon Festival to win the award.

“I want people to come and still enjoy what they’ve enjoyed the previous year, but I also want them to come and be pleasantly surprised at new, engaging experiences when they arrive,” said Ibrahim.