Attendance at Bolton Midnight Madness nears 20,000-mark

August 17, 2023 · 0 Comments

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The annual Midnight Madness Street Festival in Bolton was a success, despite what police are calling “a disturbance” at the end of the night.

Midnight Madness ran from 6 to 11 p.m. on August 11 and featured live music from local artists, 60-plus vendors, 11 food trucks, a kids’ zone and more.

Sarah Leslie, part of the Bolton Community Crew (BCC), the all-volunteer group that puts together the event each year, said this year’s event was her favourite ever.

“From what I’ve heard, this has been the best Midnight Madness in years,” said Leslie. “We had a huge attendance, I’d say close to 20,000 people came to Downtown Bolton.”

Leslie said the night was a boon for the vendors and food trucks in attendance, as well as the businesses in Downtown Bolton. One food truck even sold out of its entire stock of food.

“A lot of vendors, they’re wanting to come back each year,” said Leslie. “I couldn’t have asked for a better event.”

Leslie said Reptilia, which had all kinds of reptiles on display for kids, was a huge hit. She said the magician in the kids’ zone was great, and the Caledon Parent Child Centre (CPCC) had all kinds of games and crafts for younger kids.

“It was so much fun, there was something for everyone,” said Leslie. “The music was awesome, everyone loved the Abba Revisited band.”

Leslie said she wanted to thank all the volunteers and sponsors that made the event a success.

According to the OPP, shortly before 11 p.m. at Midnight Madness “a disturbance took place.”

No additional information on the disturbance has been officially released by Police as of press time.

Caledon OPP are investigating the “disturbance” and are asking any witnesses to call 1-888-310-1122 or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

In an August 16 Facebook post, Caledon Mayor Annette Groves said she was saddened to hear of what happened.

“Midnight Madness is a fun family event that continues to grow in popularity and was cut short by violence which has no place in Caledon,” wrote Groves. “I’d like to thank our emergency services who helped on scene and to the Caledon OPP who are continuing to investigate.”