Festival of Friends moving to Ancaster

Hamilton’s TD Festival of Friends, the largest free music festival in Ontario, has ended its 35-year history with Gage Park.

Festival board of director Tara Crugnale, chairperson of the board’s venue transition team, confirmed Tuesday the festival will move to a larger location in Ancaster.

“The simple truth is that we have grown beyond Gage Park,” Crugnale said. “It provided us an awesome home for many years, but we have to grow.

“No one is going to say it was an easy decision. The board took a lot of time going over the positives and negatives, and at the end of the day we had to look at the confines of Gage Park.”

The festival informed city officials last month of its move to the Ancaster Fairgrounds at the corner of highways 53 and 52, just south of Highway 403. A staff information report will be presented to elected officials at the emergency and community services committee meeting on Jan. 19.

Councillor Bernie Morelli, whose Ward 3 includes Gage Park, says he reluctantly agrees the park isn’t big enough for the festival anymore.

“I don’t want to see them leave the park, but it really is a growth issue,” he said Tuesday.