With the first Fest2Fall music festival under his belt, Farm League Brewing co-owner Collin McKinnon is looking to take the event to the next level this September.
And part of growing it involved a change in location.
While Dickson Park served as a fine venue, when the offer was extended to move the event to the Gaslight District, it seemed like a logical next step, he said.
"It came out of nowhere," McKinnon said about how organic the talks with the Gaslight District were.
"Last year was great. We felt good about the property and the response exceeded what I expected. We knew the team at Gaslight, but never knew where they stood on outside events. We put our heads together and it made the most sense to move the festival over there."
Putting it on in a park has its advantages, McKinnon said, but it also requires the building of infrastructure and everything that goes along with it.
By securing the newest entertainment space in the city, it allows his team to seamlessly transition and scale up as needed.
"It's the best entertainment complex in the region," McKinnon said.
"It was a win-win for us and the event."
Deemed largely a success by his team, last year's festival still provided valuable learning experiences. The biggest of which was the importance of time.
Advanced notice to the public has gone from two months to five, with this year's edition running on Sept. 19 and 20.
"It came together last minute," McKinnon said of the 2023 festival.
"My one takeaway was giving the community more notice. We want to give people as much time as possible. Last year, it took a minute to make it work with the city as we'd never done anything with the city."
Aside from the venue change, McKinnon is excited about the music lineup and enhanced offerings the two day event will provide.
Two headliners and the supporting acts will be announced tomorrow.
Food options, beverage offerings, and art and culture activations are also on the schedule.
Creating a hub for go-to leisure activities has been McKinnon's goal since coming to the city over 10 years ago. Part of that plan is making Fest2Fall bigger and better with each passing year.
"There's definitely a hunger for this type of event," he said.
"The feedback we got was Cambridge is a changing community. There's lots of great programming for food, beverage and culture but there's a gap in large scale music. This is going to be a whole different beast and the first chapter in becoming one of Canada’s best music festivals."
For more information on Fest2Fall visit fest2fall.com.
