TRUE Festival moved to summer

A festival that has become known for happening in January is being moved to the summer instead.

The TRUE Festival has not appeared on the town’s tourism website at www.visitamherstburg.ca, prompting some concern and questions from people wanting to know what happened to it. 

The tourism department made it known Friday with a social media post that the event isn’t cancelled, it’s just being moved to a different time of year.

“All events are impacted by weather but winter events can provide additional challenges for event programming,” explained manager of economic development, tourism and culture Jennifer Ibrahim. 

Not only do people attending the festival have to come in cold weather and deal with the possibility of snow and ice, the vendors and performers that come to town also have to come to Amherstburg in bad weather should Mother Nature not co-operate.

Should a festival have to be cancelled, there would still be expenses the town would have to incur as the organizer, Ibrahim added. 

“So far, we’ve been lucky,” she said.

Ibrahim said the TRUE Festival is being moved to a warmer weather month. It will be part of the 2026 Open Air Weekends lineup, she indicated, but exactly which weekend is unclear at this point. 

The festival will occur likely in June or July, Ibrahim stated, but a date has not been finalized.

“We think it will give a better experience for the attendees,” said Ibrahim. “We’ll make it one of the themed weekends (of Open Air). We think it will be a better fit.”

The TRUE Festival has typically had such entertainment as fire shows, drag queens, games and more and has been held on Dalhousie and Richmond streets.

When a date is finalized for the TRUE Festival, Ibrahim said it will be released via social media and the town’s tourism website.

TRUE Festival moved to summer

By Ron Giofu