The Town of Hawkesbury wants to encourage residents and visitors to enjoy downtown restaurants during the annual Multicultural Festival, taking place in the downtown area from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28.
Instead of allowing food trucks and other mobile stands to set up on the closed section of Main Street between William and Race streets, the Town and Festival organizers are encouraging people to visit the permanent restaurants that are located downtown.
Since the Festival’s inception in 2022, one of its primary objectives has been to contribute to the vitality and revitalization of downtown Hawkesbury. At that time, dining options on Main Street were relatively limited. Since then, several new establishments have opened. To recognize these investments and highlight the growth of the downtown commercial sector, the Multicultural Festival has partnered with six local establishments to offer visitors a diverse culinary experience just steps from the main festival site. Participating establishments are: Salvatoré, Thai Kitchen Restaurant, Restaurant Carole, Chuck’s Roadhouse, and Bhandari Indian Cuisine. The Hawkesbury Jr. A. Hawks operate the bar and hotdog stand at Place des Pionniers where the two main Festival stages are located as a fundraiser for the hockey club. Déjà Vu Restaurant & Bar on Main Street East is also a participant as an evening World Cup soccer fan zone.
“We want to promote the business community,” said Mayor Robert Lefebvre.
“There’s some new restaurants in town,” he noted.
Lefebvre said the Town is still welcoming food truck operators to set up for either short-term or seasonal operation in Confederation Park and urged operators to contact the Town if they are interested.
There are other food trucks and snack bars established at permanent locations in Hawkesbury as permitted under municipal bylaw.
In addition to supporting existing downtown businesses, the decision to promote restaurants on Main Street during the Multicultural Festival is meant to encourage visitors to the Festival to keep coming back to downtown Hawkesbury’s restaurants, and to shop at other nearby stores.
“We want to create that energy,” Lefebvre said.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Hawkesbury Multicultural Festival begins at 6:30 pm on Friday, June 26 at Place des Pionniers. The opening night concert begins at 7:15 pm. For the full schedule, go to https://festivalmulticulturel.ca.
