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Sarnia Bayfest facts for kids

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Rogers Sarnia Bayfest was a popular music festival that took place every July. It was held in Centennial Park, located in downtown Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

The festival started in 1999 and quickly grew. At first, only a few thousand people visited. But over time, it attracted around 100,000 visitors!

Bayfest was run by a group called Bayfest Festival of Performing Arts. This group was a non-profit charity. This means they didn't aim to make money for themselves. Instead, they used their funds to help local charities and build a strong community feeling.

In 2009, the festival became even bigger. It split into two separate weekends in July. One weekend was for Rock music, and the other was for Country music. Bayfest won many awards for being a great event. One big award was for being Ontario Tourism's Best Business/Event of 2009. They also received a special "Festival of Distinction" award for their long history of success.

Bayfest also helped students by offering two scholarship programs. One was called The Jim Stokley Scholarship, named after one of Bayfest's co-founders. The other was a Bayfest/MetalWorks Institute scholarship. These scholarships helped students from the Sarnia-Lambton area with their education.

Over the years, the Bayfest Festival of Performing Arts gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to local charities and groups that help the community.

However, on February 25, 2013, the Sarnia Bayfest announced it was taking a break. This break was because the costs of running the festival were getting too high. Also, it was hard to find enough sponsors to help pay for everything.

About Rogers Sarnia Bayfest

Rogers Sarnia Bayfest was a big music event. It brought many famous bands and artists to Sarnia each summer. The festival was known for its fun atmosphere and for helping the community.

How the Festival Grew

When Bayfest began in 1999, it was a smaller event. But it quickly became very popular. More and more people came each year. By 2009, it was a huge festival. It attracted visitors from all over.

Two Weekends of Music

To make sure everyone found music they loved, Bayfest changed in 2009. It offered two different weekends. One weekend was all about rock music. The other weekend featured country music stars. This allowed the festival to host a wider variety of artists.

Awards and Recognition

Bayfest was recognized for being an excellent event. It won the "Best Business/Event of the Year" award from Ontario Tourism in 2009. This showed how important the festival was to the province. It also received a "Festival of Distinction" award. This award celebrates festivals that have been successful for a long time.

Helping Students and Charities

Bayfest wasn't just about music. It also cared about the community. The festival had scholarship programs to help students go to college or university. These scholarships supported young people in the Sarnia-Lambton area. The festival also donated a lot of money to local charities. This helped many different groups in the community.

Why Bayfest Took a Break

After many successful years, Bayfest announced a break in 2013. The cost of putting on such a large festival had become very high. It was also difficult to find enough companies to sponsor the event. Because of these challenges, the festival decided to pause for a while.

Past Performers at Bayfest

Over the years, many famous bands and artists played at Rogers Sarnia Bayfest. Here are some of the groups that performed:

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