The Townshippers’ Festival is back after a three-year hiatus with a new collaboration with the Stanstead Recreational Association. 

The Townshippers’ Festival is a bilingual event that dates back almost 40 years and it is coordinated by the Townshippers’ Association - a non-profit organization that supports the English-speaking community of the Eastern Townships. The event is all about bringing together the French and English-speaking communities of the region, drawing in Townshippers’ living near and far. The festival showcases the region’s artisans, local entertainment, and community organizations to highlight its culture and dynamism. 

Put on hold because of the pandemic, the goal with this year’s Townshippers’ Festival is to break the isolation that the community experienced over the last few years. The Townshippers’ Association decided to combine this year’s festival with the Stanstead’ Recreational’s Association’s annual Septemberfest event, providing a two-for-one experience for festival goers.

As concerns grow amongst Quebec’s English-speaking communities over provincial legislation like Bill 96, Michelle Lepître, director of programs and communications for the Townshippers’ Association, said that the Townshippers' Festival plays an important role in celebrating the relationship between the region’s linguistic communities and raising awareness around their contributions to the growth of the Eastern Townships. 

“One of the nice things in the Townships is that we have pretty harmonious relationships between the linguistic groups, between the French and English communities. Traditionally, we’ve always worked really well together, we like to support each other. I think it’s a sense of pride for our region that we are able to do that,” emphasized Lepître. “I think the festival is a way that we can do that too because we also like to highlight the role the Francophones around us play for our community and that they are a part of our community too. It’s a way to highlight what works here and focus on the good things.”

According to Lepître, the Townshippers’ Festival serves a number of important roles that build a sense of community in the region. 

“I think one is really bringing the community together for a big festive event. That is always a fun thing for people to reconnect, even with people that moved away. There are Townshippers who left the Townships that still feel like Townshippers in their hearts that like to come back for this event to see old friends and old places that they remember,” she explained. “But I think it’s also a great opportunity for our community to really highlight some of the great things that we have and that we do, and some of the organizations and institutions that really highlight what the English community has always been about. The festival does a really good job of putting that on display.”

The Townshippers’ Association always had the intention of bringing back the festival, said Lepître, especially as the group recognized the fallout of the Covid pandemic. 

“The pandemic really affected how we interacted with other people. A lot of us felt isolated and we really missed these kind of events that bring us all together. I think, for that reason, it was really important for us to bring the festival back and make sure that opportunity for people to get together still existed in the Eastern Townships,” she explained.

Paige Frost, who has been coordinating the event with the Townshippers’ Association, said that Townshippers can look forward to an even “bigger” event this year as the organization partners up with the Stanstead Recreational Association. Rather than hosting their respective festivals on two back-to-back weekends, the organizations decided to combine their events. 

While this year’s Townshippers’ Festival is a collaborative effort, it will have all of the elements that it is typically known for, including artisan and community group kiosks.

“We think it’s really important to have the artisans and the community groups come to the event. Our artisans, for right now, are all from Stanstead. We’re trying to stay in the area as much as possible, but in the past [we’ve had artists from outside] of the area just to see new local artists and artisans in general that try to promote their work,” explained Frost. “For the community groups, it’s really important to have our English-speaking community groups there to promote their services, make sure that they stay running, and that people know that they can reach out and use those services that are available in the Townships.”

Frost mentioned that the Townshippers’ Association hopes to draw a good crowd this year and reiterated the importance of bringing people together again. 

“Covid was a hard time for a lot of people, especially in the community. The little businesses, the services, a lot of things were lost. So to have everyone come back together to promote these things once again is what we’re aiming for,” she noted. 

To hear more about the Townshippers’ Festival listen to the full interview below: