A fest for the senses

Osborne Village

Garden City

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This article was published 18/06/2025 (397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be a festival atmosphere in Osborne Village at the end of this month — and everyone is invited to join the celebrations.

The inaugural Village Music Fest will be held in the southwest Winnipeg neighbourhood on Friday, June 27 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight, and Saturday, June 28 from 1 p.m. to midnight.

The event, presented by Osborne Village BIZ and produced in collaboration with local music promoters Real Love and The Village Idiots, will showcase how Canada’s multicultural landscape continues to shape the nation’s music scene.

Fittingly, the first day of the festival will be held on Canadian Multiculturalism Day, said Osborne Village BIZ executive director Zohreh Gervais, who said she hopes the festival will become an annual fixture. It is inspired, in part, by “Osborne Village street parties of old, such as the one on Canada Day,” Gervais said, adding the Village Music Fest is intended to reflect the authenticity and diversity of the city’s population.

“We’re a multicultural society here,” Gervais said. “It’s really exciting to celebrate ways to be Canadian.”

Gervais added that some local business owners — retailers, bars and restaurants — are enthusiastic about the upcoming event, as it will bring people to the Village.

Performers will take the stage as six different venues spanning Osborne Village – the Osborne Taphouse, the Toad in the Hole, Must Be the Place, ANAF 60, Small Mercies, and the Bell Tower.

At press time, the lineup of artists and musicians set to appear totalled more than 25 and included Kelly Bado, the 12/21, Amarula, Wlf Grl, Kimmortal, and Jérémie and the Delicious Hounds.

“As a BIPOC person myself, it’s nice to see representation of different ethnicities and backgrounds,” said Malory Alimario, summer event co-ordinator for the BIZ.

“My friends and I are always on the hunt for events that are a reflection of ourselves.”

Gervais described one of the participating bands, the 12/21, as “a really cool band that has won awards in the Philippines.”

“In Canada, we’re uniquely poised to do this. Here in the city, you can go to Times Change(d), for example, and see all kinds of people perform. Winnipeg, as a place, is weirdly accepting,” she said.

Roman Maceda is the oldest member of the 12/21, which he describes as band of three brothers that grew up in Manila, in the Philippines, and moved to Winnipeg in 2008.

The Garden City resident said the pop/punk band, whose influences include Blink-182 and Green Day, is looking forward to performing at the Village Music Fest.

“We’re really excited to be part of the event, and excited to share our music and our love of music,” Maceda said.

The 12/21 will perform on June 27 at 8:45 p.m. at the Osborne Taphouse, opening for Jérémie & the Delicious Hounds, and Dirty Catfish Brass Band.

The band’s song, Misery, was named the number one track of 2023 on Spotify Fresh Finds Philippines and has amassed more than 200,000 streams across various Spotify playlists, Maceda said.

The event is made possible with funding from the federal government, Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), and the Osborne Village BIZ.

Visit www.osbornevillagebiz.com/villagemusicfest for more information.

Visit www.instagram.com/the1221music to learn more about the band.