Mayor Rob Ford greets a residen at the Ford Fest barbecue in Thomson Park in July of 2013. This year's Ford Fest event is set for Friday, July 25, at Thomson Park. - Staff File Photo/ADAM DIETRICH
Ford Fest returns to Scarborough’s Thomson Park on Friday
Ford Fest seems to be returning to Scarborough’s Thomson Memorial Park this Friday, July 25, and apparently there isn’t anything Rob Ford’s opponents can do about it.
Mayor Rob Ford greets a residen at the Ford Fest barbecue in Thomson Park in July of 2013. This year's Ford Fest event is set for Friday, July 25, at Thomson Park. - Staff File Photo/ADAM DIETRICH
Ford Fest seems to be returning to Scarborough’s Thomson Memorial Park this Friday, July 25, and apparently there isn’t anything Rob Ford’s opponents can do about it.
For years before he was elected Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford and his family invited friends for annual Ford Fests at their family home in Etobicoke.
Last July, he drew thousands to a Ford Fest in Thomson Park, as the event moved to the city’s east side for the first time. Free food and alcohol were served.
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The embattled mayor is seeking to repeat the event - minus the alcohol, reports say - on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m.
His announcement Monday said everyone was "invited to join the Ford family for a barbecue," and called Ford Fest a "free community event 19 years strong."
Some of Ford’s rivals in the mayoral race, which began on Jan. 2 when he registered as a candidate, quickly pointed out to the City of Toronto that any activity "meant to elicit support during the campaign period" counts as campaigning.
And campaigning, they said, isn’t allowed on city property until the election is over.
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David Soknacki, a former Scarborough councillor running for mayor, said Ford is welcome to hold the party in any private establishment, but as a candidate, he’s not allowed to use a public park.
"What’s being proposed is not a family activity, it is a campaign event," argued Soknacki, adding city staff should follow the rules and not allow a permit for Ford Fest.
"The rules are clear."
On Tuesday, July 22, morning, Mark Lawson, a customer service manager for Toronto Parks, said a permit for the use of space in Thomson Memorial, still had not been issued, but added the city was only waiting to resolve compliance issues he said "aren’t major."
A spokesperson for Ford’s campaign, Jeff Silverstein, could not be reached on Monday or Tuesday morning for comment.
In addition to the food, live music and pictures with the mayor, last July’s Ford Fest at Thomson Park, at Lawrence Avenue and Brimley Road east of Ford’s campaign headquarters in Wexford Heights, saw the live premiere of a new song about Ford by Jenny James, Mayor Ford (The World Will Remember).
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