Beatlemania returns to downtown London this weekend, transforming the public library’s Wolf Performance Hall into the Ed Sullivan Theatre and Dundas St. into a temporary park complete with real grass.
The second annual London Beatles Festival begins at 6pm Friday at the Jack Richardson London Hall of Fame with the FAB FOURum, a five-person discussion panel and full Beatles exhibit. Across the street, the London Arts Project hosts the Sergeant Pepper Listening Lounge where Londoners can hear the remastered iconic album in full.
The festival's three-day run continues Saturday with opening ceremonies on the Abbey Road Street Stage on Clarence St. The outdoor stage will host a free celebration of everything Beatles with tribute acts, trivia, and karaoke.
"Everything is well within walking distance within Dundas St. which we have renamed Penny Lane and Clarence St. which is Abbey Rd.," said Festival Director Paul Rivard.
In a new twist and a nod to this year's peace and love theme, festival organizers have teamed up with the Green Streets Challenge to turn Dundas St. into Strawberry Fields, a temporary park.
"Through Rural Roots Landscaping, an organization that is coming in to support Habitat For Humanity, we are brining in sod. It's the first time London has ever seen this and it is interesting," said Rivard. "From curb to curb, 5,000 sq ft of sod is going to be placed down on Dundas St. Everyone is really going to love walking and dancing to the Beatles in bare feet on actual grass on a downtown street."
Strawberry Fields, named after the Beatles 1967 hit, will take over Dundas St. on Sunday. After the event, the sod will be removed from the street and installed at a Habitat For Humanity project for free by local landscapers.
The Octopus’s Beer Garden holds the event's main stage in a parking lot at King St. and Clarence St.
"There you can get our own signature beers from Railway City Brewing that have the John, Paul, George, and Ringo Sergeant Pepper theme," said Rivard. "We have a full lineup of bands at the beer gardens for everybody with everything from blues, jazz, and folk. We even have a full 30 piece orchestra on Sunday backing up a George Harrison and Paul McCartney tribute as a grand finale."
The festival will also include youth performers who will participate in a talent showcase at the Wolf Performance Hall. A free childrens area called Pepperland at the public library's Rotary Reading Garden, and the festival organizers have put together the first ever international Beatles tribute awards.
The not-for-profit festival is raising funds for Youth Opportunities Limited, Over 55 London, and the Sunshine Foundation. Proceeds from the Sergeant Pepper's Big Band Concert being held Saturday at the Metropolitan United Church will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross' Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas.
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