The 2018 Stars and Thunder Festival officially gets started today at Hollinger Park, and there’s a lot going on for festival-goers.

The festival is opening on St. Jean Baptiste Day and there are some francophone performers that you won’t want to miss.

The gates to the festival grounds at Hollinger Park open today at 1 PM. Performances start shortly after, with Carole Champagne taking the stage at 1:30 today. She’ll be followed by Celeste Levis, playing at 3:30.

LGS, Le Groupe Swing, take the stage at 4:45 today and then Roch Voisine will perform at 6:30.

Then at 8:30, a slight change to the lineup; singer Eric Lapointe won’t be performing due to laryngitis, but Lapointe’s good friend and fellow judge on La Voix, Marc Dupre, has stepped up to take his place. Dupre is one of the top touring francophone artists in Canada and is very excited to be performing in Timmins for the festival.

Opening night will end with a bang, as Team Brazil sets off their fireworks at 10:45 PM.

Festival goers can review the rules for the festival here before heading to Hollinger Park today. There will be food vendors at the park, and free water refilling stations will be available as well. Guests are asked to bring clear, plastic, empty water bottles if they want to refill on water while at the festival.

To get to and from the park, check out transit options here with Timmins Transit, Timmins Handy Transit and First Student. All public transit to and from the festival is free.

Also keep in mind the road closures taking place throughout the festival. Brunette road has been converted to a one way street for the duration of the festival. This means traffic will be restricted to southbound vehicle traffic only from Algonquin Blvd. to Second Avenue. Timmins police will be on hand to direct traffic in high density areas to help with pedestrian and street traffic. You can go here for parking information.

If you’re not attending the festival on its opening day, you can still be part of the action come Monday, June 25th. The Stars and Thunder Village opens at 9 AM on Monday, and there will be plenty to do for kids and families, including bouncy castles, vendors and even a Legoland. The Stars and Thunder Village will be open every day next week from 9 AM to 3 PM. It’s all happening in downtown Timmins on Pine Street South and Third Avenue for the week of June 25th. To check out more details about the Stars and Thunder Village, Urban Park and Urban Park Market, go here. 

Tickets can be purchased for the Stars and Thunder Festival here.