St. James Town's 2019 Festival Report - For St. James Town Service Providers' Network (SJTSPN)
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St. James Town’s 2019
Festival Report
For St. James Town Service Providers’ Network (SJTSPN)
This report was prepared by the Festival Committee members for future planning purposes by
the St. James Town Service Providers Network. This is to be shared internally amongst the
SJTSPN and the planning committee. The executive summary can be found online at
www.stjamestown.org.
The compilation and coordination of the report was prepared by Amanda Bagri (MPH intern-
Sherbourne Health) and Sehr Athar (Sherbourne Health & SJTSPN Co-Chair) with support from
Alyssa Santsche (Social Work Student Placement, Fred Victor). Authorship contributions from
Christina Tran (Sherbourne Health), Bill Hatch (Our Lady of Lourdes Parish), Norma Khandaker
(Progress Place) and Robb Johannes (Fred Victor & SJTSPN Co-Chair 2019) have also been
included. For further details and documentation, please contact The Corner at
info@stjamestown.org
1
St. James Town Festival 2019
Table of Contents
St James Town 2019 Festival Overview Page 3
Highlights of Community Partners at the Festival Page 4-6
Kids Zone, Activities, Crafts, Face-Painting, & Henna Page 7-8
Crafts, Artists, & Jewelry Vendors Page 9
Cultural and Diverse Food at the Festival Page 10
Cultural and Unique Performances Page 11-12
St James Town Community Awards Page 13-14
Volunteer Coordination / Recognition Page 15-16
Promotion, Publicity, Outreach Pages 17-18
Festival Map and Logistics Pages 19-20
Sponsorship and Fundraising Page 21
Planning and Collaboration Page 22-23
Conclusion Page 24
Appendix Page 25-29
2
3
St James Town 2019 Festival Overview
The 9th annual St James Town Festival took place this year in the heart of St James Town! The 2019 SJT
festival was celebrated on the 7th of September. Highlighting the resilience and community cohesiveness
demonstrated in the neighborhood, this year's theme was Stronger Together and Resilient.
The festival hosted 16 musical and dance performances on stage demonstrating various cultural heritages,
11 local food vendors serving diverse food, and about 25 community partners showcasing their services
or engaging residents in interactive activities. 3 residents were the Master of Ceremonies for the day.
This festival is a grassroots
initiative, planned by the St.
James Town Service Providers’
Network and a group of residents.
The festival offers entertainment,
kid’s activities, cultural foods and
performances, information about
services and programs while
providing a sense of community
and togetherness. The festival
survey revealed that people
expressed a very strong sense of
belonging at the Festival. The day
of is only made possible by the
hard work of over 52 volunteers –
mostly local community
members. Overall, the majority of
respondents, 65%, indicated that they were very satisfied, and 20% indicated that they were somewhat
satisfied – demonstrating a 5% increase in each category from last year. See Appendix A for the survey
itself and Appendix B for the survey results of the Festival. This year’s festival date was shared with the
Cabbagetown Festival, with the intention of showcasing and profiling St. James Town to a much wider
audience.
Festival Feedback
53.2% of survey respondents indicated feeling a strong sense of belonging to the local
community (feeling connected and accepted)
4
Highlights of Community Partners at the Festival
The 2019 SJT Festival took place in the grassy parquette behind 200 Wellesley and Ontario Street. The
permit was obtained from TCHC. This space being in the heart of St. James Town was easily accessible to
the community, hence provided a great place for people to celebrate. The event was held from 1-6pm on
September 7th, 2019. The festival was not held 2-7pm as the attendance wavered after 5pm during the
2018 festival.
This was made possible through community partners all pitching in to provide tents, tables and
chairs. For example, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and The Corner were able to lend tents for the
Festival. Community Matters and Woodgreen Community Services lent tables and chairs. We also
received 100 chairs
from Abundant Life
Church (Truck Stage
rental), and we rented
50 chairs from ABSO
rental. TCHC
contributed to the
volunteer engagement
activities, including
lunch.
5
Each SJTSPN subcommittee was responsible for
staffing their own booth and/or area or leading
an activity zone. For example, the Catering
Collective was responsible for the Food Vendors
Area, SJTSPN Seniors’ Subcommittee - or most
recently referred to as Older Adults Consortium
- was responsible for the Seniors’ Tent, and the
Growing Together team at Sick Kids Centre for
Community Mental Health took a lead on the
Kids Zone. The Youth Network coordinated the
Youth Zone, and all Health Access St. James
Town partners coordinated services in one
area. All SJTSPN agencies that participated were
encouraged as much as possible to offer
interactive activities at their tents/ tables and
booths, as well as services on site. This year the
following organizations and groups participated
via interactive booths either as part of a SPN
Subcommittee Tent area or Activity Zone:
Toronto Public Health, Sickkids Centre for Community Mental Health - Growing Together, Alliance for
South Asian Aids Prevention, The Alzheimer’s Society, Sherbourne Health’s Urban Health Team, One
Campaign, The Neighbourhood Group-Central Neighbourhood House, Youth United, Peacebuilders, Art
City, Dixon Hall, Health Access St. James Town, Wellesley Community Centre, Hospice Toronto- Creating
Caring Communities, Steps Initiative, The Neighbourhood Organization, Woodgreen Community
Services, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Trinity Life Church, Fred Victor, Progress Place, The Corner,
Sherbourne Health, Office of MP Bill Morneau
Linda from Dixon Hall staffs the Tent for the Older
Adults’ Consortium
6
Some special service activities to note included:
● Nalaxone Training provided to residents by Sherbourne Health
● Free Reiki provided through Hospice Toronto
● Youth United had a basketball tournament on the day of the festival, and the
basketball winners were announced on stage!
● Health Access St. James Town intake staff did live intake for HASJT/ The Corner
services
● The Corner provided free t-shirts to residents
● Sick Kids Centre for Community Mental Health and Woodgreen Community Services
set up many games and learning activities for toddlers and young children
● Woodgreen staff and volunteers provided free Popcorn - the popcorn machine and
popcorn throughout the day was a huge success
Reiki provided by Hospice Toronto Volunteers
Urban Health Team from Sherbourne Health
provides Nalaxone Training to residents
Basketball winners from the Youth United-organized
Basketball Tournament
Workers from Toronto Public Health host a booth with
health information
7
Kids Zone Activities, Crafts, Face-Painting, & Henna
The Festival committee organized special activities this year for kids such as free face-painting, a henna
booth, and a bouncy castle. In addition, a number of agencies took the lead providing kid-friendly
interactive games, arts and crafts activities at their booths. There were always 6 volunteers who rotated
in face painting to make sure this activity was available for the duration of the festival! There were 4
individuals who provided henna for participants of SJT Festival. We also had a resident lead an interactive
science experiment! In addition, Joon’s Balloons- lead by Dr. June Cheng from Sherbourne Health-
provided nonstop free balloon making throughout the festival, which was a very popular activity.
The team from SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health - Growing Together- oversaw the Kids’
Activities for the day. They provided interactive toddler activities and supervised the Bouncy Castle.
8
Sickkids CMH staff, Trina, speaks with a Festival volunteer
about parenting programs for prenatal mums
9
Craft, Artists & Jewelry Vendors
This year the festival showcased the work of local artists and craft vendors in St. James Town. The criteria
for submission being living in St. James Town or surrounding area and showcasing a handmade product.
There were over 6 craft vendors, which included artists and jewelry makers.
Festival Feedback
49% of survey respondents rated the children’s activities as very good, and
approximately 16% said it was their favorite part of the festival. In comparison to last
year, fewer people indicated that they wanted to see more children’s activities.
10Cultural and Diverse Food at the Festival
Local Food Vendors
Each year the call out for Festival participation, for performers and volunteers, also includes local food
vendors. They work with the Community Dietician at Sherbourne Health, to provide safe and culturally
tasty dishes at the festival for a fee. Each food vendor attended a one hour training in August. The 2019
SJT festival hosted 11 food vendors this year (see chart below). The vendors served food from 2-4pm.
Name Food Item(s)
Neha Pani Puri, Kachori & Chutney, Smoothies
Mariam Kabuli Palaw & Tandoori Chicken, Bolani & Chutney, Basbousa
Faiza Chicken Biryani, Potato Burger & Chutney
Binal Trifle cups (assorted flavors), Brownie Cups, Pineapple Pastries
Ashima Chili Paneer & Rice, Matar Chat
Priyanka Vegetarian Samosa, Dahi Vada, Kochari
Anapama Veggie Puff, Eff Puff
Gayathri Vadai, Onion Bajji
Shanthi Chicken Biryani
Lopa Mango Lassi, Veggie Cutlet, Stuffed Parathas
Chef Fried Chicken, Jerk Chicken, Pepper Steak, Curry Goat, Rice &
Peas, Plain Rice, Steam Veggies, Coleslaw
Festival Feedback
27.6% of survey respondents rated the food very good and 17% of respondents
indicated that the food was their favorite part of the festival.
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
o Survey results indicated that survey respondents wanted more foods including more halal
foods and foods for children (e.g. cotton candy). Nevertheless, food was once again one of the
favorite parts of the festival for respondents.
11Cultural and Unique Performances
The St. James Town festival hosted a total of 16 community performances this year. Performances were
held on the Truck Stage at St. James Town as well as a performance booth at the Cabbagetown Festival.
The performers consisted of both adults and children who performed different songs and dance. Of the
performers, 90% of the performers were from St. James Town and/or the surrounding area. Overall the
performances represented the community well and were able to run throughout the duration of the
whole festival. Performers were supported with a stage manager to help the flow of the performances.
There were 4 auditions held at The Corner. This year, honorariums were included in the budget such
that each performer was provided with a gift card or money. All performers were provided with a lunch
meal on the day of, alongside other volunteers.
The MCs for the day were all residents of St. James Town; Kyle, Danielle and Peta.
12Name Type of Performance
Wendy Belcourt Singing
Om Kar Singing
Youngsil Cho Singing
Xian Yao Tang Dance
Ernest Hum Band
Rahul Ramani Singing
Sumedha Mongia Dance
Megha Dance
Bhuvaneswari Dance
Amit Sharma Singing
Virgil & Kamal Guitar & Traditional Drums
Reaching Out Through St. James Town Children’s
Music Choir
David Band
Priya & Arti Dance
Thrish & Adya Dance
Kids Fashion Show (Ruby) Fashion Show
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Honorariums for performers was greatly appreciated this year, so continue to set aside a good
portion of the budget for performers
● The St. James Town Stage at the Cabbagetown Festival worked well to showcase St. James Town
talents. The Cabbagetown Stage needs its own committee next year and staff and volunteers.
● Start the Festival off with musical performances instead of dance performances
● Try and diverse cultural groups for the performances next year, and try for more youth
Festival Feedback
56% of survey respondents rated the performances as very good. With almost 36% of
survey respondents stating that the performances were their favorite part of the
festival.
13St. James Town Community Awards
The St. James Town Community Awards were created in order to recognize exceptional contribution by
community members and groups that have created positive changes in St. James Town Community.
St. James Town Festival 2019 awards committee recognized the contributions made over the past year
(June 2018 – June 2019) in the community.
The 2019 Awards will recognize contributions made over the past year (June 2018 – June 2019). A total
of 10 awards and 2 scholarships will be given in the following categories:
o SJT Change Makers (6 awards)
o SJT Group Awards (3 awards)
o SJT Scholarships (2 scholarships)
Category Award Winner
SJT Change Makers Youth (24 or under ) Sachintha Fernando
Award Given to Seniors (55+) Femmie Prudente
individuals’ who live Newcomers (5 years or Maheswari Kannan
in SJT and has made less in Canada)
outstanding Women (25+) Peta Francis
contributions to the Men (25+) Milan Slavkovic
community LGBTQ+ Danielle I. Szlawieniec-Haw
SJT Group Award Big Business Bell Canada
Grassroots Organization Repair Cafe
SJT Scholarship Community Wannason Sinnathurai
Engagement/Leadership
Creative/Artistic Jason Jang
Contribution
SJT Champion Community Leadership Maryam Rahimi
Supporter selected by service Mohamad Fakih
providers Jack De Klerk
Shahin Oudji
14SJT Photograph Competition Awards
St James Town hosted a photographer competition out of The Corner this year. The competition had the
underlying theme of “Stronger Together and Resilient”. Since most of the participants were amateurs,
entrees were not judged purely from a technical perspective but more in terms of creativity, the effort
put in, the subject of choice and how the entree relates to the theme.
Award Placement Name of Winner(s) 1st Place Award:
1st Place Joseph Yeo
2nd Place Neha Bhat
3rd Place Anitha
2nd Place Award:
3rd Place Award:
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Planning of awards ceremony must be more well thought through - ensure list of awards and
winners are finalized
● Begin promoting the awards ceremony early in the year so as to have many nominations,
especially for the Youth Scholarship Award
● Promote the awards with Jarvis Collegiate
● Encourage SJTSPN member agencies, Landlords and partners to promote peers, volunteers and
program participants for the awards
● Make inclusion criteria and theme more explicit in the instructions of the photography contest
● Promote photography contest earlier and with more rigorously - the number of entries was was
small
15Volunteer Coordination / Recognition
The day was made possible with the help of our
volunteers. Callouts for volunteers took the form
of an online application, posters, support from
The Corner and, support from volunteer
organizations. Trinity Life Church and Our Lady of
Lourdes Parish who were able to recruit and
orient many volunteers. There were 39 pre-
registered volunteers, followed by another 13
volunteers who showed up on the day of the
festival, for a total of 52 volunteers. Two
orientation sessions were held for all volunteers.
Roles of volunteers in the Festival were discussed
as well as debriefing of the day.
Approximately 40 volunteers, students and staff
enjoyed breakfast, lunch and treats throughout
the day. A room at the Corner was set up to
welcome and appreciate the volunteers for their
hard work and commitment on the day of the
Festival. Food donations were picked up from
Mandy and Domino's Pizza, and the Corner
catered to salad, fruit, hot dogs and hamburgers.
16Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Give volunteers a volunteer manual in advance, in case they cannot make it to the training
sessions
● Ensure that volunteers are aware of what they will be doing on a particular shift
○ some of the volunteers who came for 5pm were confused that the festival was already
over and weren't sure of what to do or why they were needed at all. Perhaps having more
overlap between the shifts or clear goals for each time slot would be make this a bit easier
(so people come in knowing what to expect)
● For the volunteer registration position - ensure that they are provided a list of volunteer names,
volunteer roles and workstation so that they can be directed efficiently.
17Promotion, Publicity, Outreach
Callout for Performers, Volunteers, Vendors
The call out poster for vendors, performers, and
volunteers went out in June. There were many vendors
interested this year due to the early promotion of the call
out. Additionally, a Facebook events page for the Festival
was created and maintained for the duration of the
Festival generating 210 people interested.
Festival Promotion
The Festival poster went up in all the 19 high rise buildings as well as hand bills door to door, and local
businesses in and around St. James Town featured posters in store windows. Staggering the roll out of
the postcards and posters was effective. The process began 4 weeks prior to the Festival. Additionally,
Cabbagetown BIA had offered to share postcards promoting the SJT Festival on one side and the
Cabbagetown on the other. Postcards were handed out to Winchester Public School and Rose Avenue
Public School to the teachers to send home with all the students. Feedback from Community
Ambassadors was that students that received the postcard through schools, came home to tell their
parents about it and were very excited. The festival also had its own Facebook page, and through The
Corner’s social media handles on twitter, Instagram and Facebook, it was promoted in advance of the
festival.
18Festival Feedback
49.2% of respondents heard about the festival from a family or friend, followed by
18.5% that heard about the festival from The Corner Outreach Staff/Volunteers and
12.1% from a flyer.
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Promote the Call Out for Volunteers, Vendors and Performers in early June or May
● Continue major outreach for the Festival only 1 month before the festival (eg. street outreach,
door-to-door)
● Consider bulk mail for the postcard distribution instead of door-to-door in with volunteers
● Continue to partner with Winchester Public School, Rose Avenue Public School to distribute
postcards to the students through the schools
● Reconsider postcard printing via only one method next year as we had too many postcards to
distribute during outreach
● Consider a more effective and thoughtfully planned out social media strategy, as there was not a
lot of social media promotion leading up to Festival this year, and the organizers felt that it was
a missed opportunity given The Corner’s online presence
19Festival Map & Logistics
20Festival Feedback
65% of survey respondents felt very satisfied with the St James Town Festival.
Nonetheless, some suggestions that arose in the survey call for more booths and a
larger location space.
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Continue to work with community partners to leverage tents, tables and chairs and save budget
● Maintain partnership with Abundant Life Church for Truck stage, and chairs
● Invite agencies and SJTSPN Subcommittees to lead the Activity Zones and Tent Areas again
(decentralize the planning process)
● Allocate more room for booths
○ Suggestions from survey included: self-defense, health and wellness booths
● Similarly to previous years, there was a call for portable washrooms
21Sponsorship & Fundraising
This year the Festival planning committee had a donations/contributions subcommittee. Local
businesses contributed to the festival and festival sponsors were recognized on social media, the
Facebook page and a poster was printed with their logos.
Sherbourne Health was the trustee of this year’s Festival fund, and Festival Co-Chairs ensured to
coordinate with Sherbourne’s team to administer funds, petty cash and monitor cheques/ invoices
coming in and out of the account.
Resource Contribution/Budget Festival Sponsors and Small Business Donations
Reserve (2018) $5115 Domino’s Pizza
Total Incoming Revenue 2019 $5040 Lemay Hair Salon
Total incoming revenue in Gift $1328 Phillipine Variety Store
Cards etc. St. James Town Dry Cleaners
Total Expenses 2019* (NOT $5613 Medallion Corporation
including gift card expenditure) Greenwin Property Management
Total Gift Card Expenditure $854 Wellesley Parliament Square
Difference (2020 Reserve) $5036
Total Expenditure 2019
Budget Items Amount
Tents Tables Chairs Rental $197.75
Resident Co-Chair Honorarium $350.00
Stage Rental, BBQ, Chairs $550.00
A/V Equipment, Sound, Set up $500.00
Plaques/Awards/ Certificates $689.30
Scholarships $1000.00
Food – Volunteer Lunch and Meetings $101.24 + $26.63
Performer honorarium $900.00
Appreciation Dinner $419.00
Day of Incidentals (face-painting, popcorn, $395.05
cleaning supplies, water, henna)
Bouncy Castle $280.00
Outreach and Promotion (SJT pins, posters) $204.53 - $56.50
TOTAL EXPENSES $5613
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● Continue to engage our sponsors and note them on social media, website and at the Festival
● Continue to outreach to the local businesses like Domino’s pizza and make new partnerships
with suggested businesses like: Mr. Jerk & Pam’s Carribean.
● The Committee has decided not to go with Maple Lodge Farms for hot dog donations for future
Festivals, but instead ask a community partner to purchase hot dogs via sponsorship
● If the Committee would like to engage the City Councilor’s office for sponsorship like the
barbeque this year, engage early and follow up on a regular basis, so as to not let it fall off the
radar
22Planning and Collaboration
The Festival Committee met monthly starting in April and increased the meetings as the Festival drew
closer depending on what needed to be addressed. Similarly to last year, St. James Town residents were
invited to take on more leadership roles with the planning aspects of the Festival, sitting on Sub-
Committees as well as Co-Chairing the overall Festival. The resident Co-Chair was Maheshwari Kannan.
Festival Committee Name Agency
MC Subcommittee Robb Johannes Fred Victor
Peta Francis Resident
Danielle Szlawieniec-Haw Resident
Kyle Zhang Resident
Volunteer Subcommittee Bill Hatch Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Lewis Walker The Corner
Laura Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Milinda Yimesghen Sherbourne Health
Karthik Pandalangat The Corner
Sath Arulvarathan Trinity Life- The New Common
Patricia Alvarenga Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Minara Begum Hospice Toronto
Performance Yogita Sanap The Corner
Subcommittee Sachintha Fernando Sherbourne Health
Lewis Walker The Corner
Karthik Pandalangat The Corner
Kyle Zhang The Corner
Awards Subcommittee Robb Johannes Fred Victor
Norma Khandaker Progress Place
Cabbagetown/ Yogita Sanap The Corner
Performers Sachintha Fernando Sherbourne Health
Logistics/ Budget Sehr Athar Sherbourne Health
Milinda Yimesghen Sherbourne Health
Suja Selvaraj The Corner
Armela Marano The Neighbourhood Office
Business Subcommittee Niv Balachandran The Corner
Thomas Tesfay The Corner
Maheshwari Kannan Resident Co Chair
Outreach & Social Media Aravind Joseph The Corner
& Promotes Tomas Tesfay The Corner
23Food Vendor Christina Tran Sherbourne Health
Subcommittee Deeksha Gupta Catering Collective
Henna/ Crafts Yogita Sanap The Corner
Maheshwari Kannan Resident Co Chair
Kids Zone Tamara Este SickKids Centre for Community
Niv Balachandran Mental Health
Avneet Hooria The Corner
Woodgreen Community Services
Youth Network Tent Jansten Labagnao Wellesley Community Centre
Health Access Tent Nayanthi Wijesuriya Health Access St. James Town
Seniors Tent Norma Khandekar Progress Place
Corner Tent Suja Selvaraj The Corner
Audio/ Visual Rick Latif Resident
Recommendations and Lessons Learned
● As always, planning for festival should begin as early as April of the year
● Engage residents from the beginning in the planning, including for Co-Chair
● Tent areas via SJTSPN subcommittees worked really well this year in order to coordinate
services and activities. We were able to really work with agencies to showcase their expertise
● Continue to designate SJTSPN agency leads to Tent or Zone areas
● Performance subcommittee needs a lot more support next year if we are continuing to have two
stages, one at Cabbagetown and one at the SJT Festival
● Bring residents on early to the MC subcommittee process if they are going to be MC’s again
24Conclusion
SJT 2019 Festival was another success! Survey results indicated that 65% of feedback from festival
attendees said they were very satisfied with the Festival. And 75.2% of survey respondents said they
met new people, created new social connections or experienced something new at the festival.
Excellent feedback was received from the subcommittees who volunteered to run various tasks and
from attendees.
How satisfied were you with the St James Town 2019 Festival overall?
25Appendix: Residents’ Feedback
Health Access St. James Town implements a survey each year at the St. James Town Festival.
The survey objectives include an evaluation of the Festival itself, as well as garnering input from
residents on service and program needs in St. James Town. This year, two additional questions
were added to the survey that are intended to be utilized as a baseline in measuring social
isolation and connectedness. The survey is administered by volunteers. This year 110 surveys
were administered. Each question had varying response rates. The survey data was entered
into survey monkey, and qualitative feedback was coded by a group of students, volunteers
under the supervision of the Health Promotion Specialist on Sherbourne’s Newcomer Health
Team.
1. Demographic Profile of Survey Respondents
Gender of respondents
42 female-identified, 26 male –identified
Age of respondents
The majority of participants were between the ages of 31 and 40 years old.
Postal Code of survey respondents
73% of survey respondents were from St. James Town (40 of the 55 responses), and 27% (15
of the 55 responses) lived outside of St. James Town, indicating that participants from other
parts of Toronto are attending the Festival.
2. Feedback on programs, services, social connections
What is ONE program or service you wish you could see in St. James Town?
There were 79 responses to this open-ended question, summarized below under the sections of
programs vs services.
Programs - Programming concerning children and youth, seniors and arts/dance seemed to be
the most popular responses.
26● Children & Youth Programs- “something to teach children about being organized,
learning about respecting and health,” “arts for youth,” “music for kids,” “kids dances.”
The majority of responses suggested more programs in general for youth and kids.
● Multicultural Events & Programs- “Afghan programs from Afghanistan,” “program(s) for
all nationality(ities),” “immigration information booth.”
● Security/Public Environment- “safety”
● Career/Employment-” health promotion, early career.”
● Arts/Dance- “more drama and storytelling activities or poetry,” “'dance, singing,”
“bollywood dance,” “more fun and music.” Many of the responses suggested wanting
more “dance” in general.
● Programs for specialized groups- eg. seniors (“free BP testing for our elderly,” “free
homecare service,” “programs for seniors,” “Alzheimer education”) and parents
(“parenting and communication,” “childcare/ daycare provider”).
● Recreational- “exercise during winter in evening,” “movie night, like the ones hosted at
regent park,” “fun with numbers and board games.” Many people shared that they were
excited for the swimming pool to open.
● Health and Wellbeing- “monthly social programs and speakers of different healthy well-
being,” “postnatal and prenatal.”
Services - Within services, specialized services related to health and wellbeing were mentioned
the most number of times. Specific suggestions within this area included:
● Food security- food programs for students on weekends and throughout the entire year.
● Additional services included: immigrant services, LGBTQ services, free legal services,
counselling services, tutoring services, repair classes.
What is ONE thing that organizations/agencies can do to better meet the needs of residents
in St. James Town?
There were 65 responses to this question. The responses were categorized into 5 thematic
areas below.
Outreach/Communications & Community/Resident Engagement
● “More outreach to the community”
● “Post availability more actually”
● “More volunteers”
● “Communitication”
● “More groups at expect the st james town corner”
● “By separating them and giving good advice to the residents”
● “Paid stalls will attract more crowd with better location”
Community Events
● “Organize this programme often”
● “More community program”
● “Board games”
● “Time to time meeting, picnic, potluck etc.”
27Security/Safety/Cleanliness
● “Security guards”
● “We would like to keep the community more clean and safe”
● “Proper maintenance, cleaning around the surroundings”
● “Improve safety”
● “Strive to ask for better elevator maintenance”
Specialized services/supports and programs
● Children & Youth- “more playground for students,” “anything for kids.”
● Art/Dance- “music programs.”
● Health & Wellbeing- “learning about cleaning the environment, enhancing people's
knowledge about the environment,” “offer classes for kids and adults more children,”
“drug prevention program,” “health.”
● Seniors- “we need to have vegetable fruit stand that is free for seniors”
● Cultural - “food and culture program”
● Food Security- “more Food bank”
● “Men's program”
● “Bench, portable washroom”
General service provision
● “A little more organized”
● “More service offered”
● “Available on site”
● “Good communication and peace”
3. New learnings about St. James Town through the Festival
One of the goals of the festival is to promote and increase access to resources, programs and
services for vulnerable residents, as well as to create a sense of community.
Did you meet any new people, create new social connections or experience something new at
the SJT Festival today? (nominal and open ended)
28When asked whether festival attendees met anyone new, created new connections or
experienced something new at the SJT Festival today, 72.5% responded with “Yes” and 24.8%
responded with “No”. Of those who responded with “Yes”, there were 12 open-ended
responses to this question. The responses were categorized into 3 thematic areas below.
Available services/supports/programs
Festival attendees described learning about different programs and their city. Specifically,
attendees mentioned:
● “Parenting group/ Bike 24 hob”
● “I learn about some health and legal support”
● “Meet some organization”
● “I learned about the seniors program at the corner”
Meeting and interacting with new people in the community
Majority of responses from festival attendees suggested learning more about their community
and the people who make it. Specific responses included:
● “This is the first time to see the entire community together. It is a very good event”
● “I met some Indian friends, I get to know about the culture”
● “Met some new friends”
● “Met a Mexican friends and I know about their food”
Caring environment
Responses from festival attendees also suggested learning about the caring nature of their
community. Specific responses included:
● “Very nice friendly environment
● “Friendly”
4. Overall Festival Feedback
When asked how satisfied participants were with the festival, 65% of respondents said they
were very satisfied.
295. Favourite Aspect of Festival
The most common favourite aspect cited was the performances and dances. People spoke
about the various performances from both adults and children’s groups as a highlight of their
entertainment. Similar to previous years, food was another favorite part of the festival that was
popular among survey respondents.
Notably, some survey respondents claimed that the community coming together was an
enjoyable part of the festival. Participants were happy with the diversity of participants and
booths and believed that the festival was a good way to engage community members of all
walks of life.
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