Mr. Speaker, on Friday, June 1, the town of Orangeville will once again be the proud host of the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival.
The annual festival had its beginnings in 2003. A small group of five volunteers organized and operated a full-blown festival over three days. Today, this annual event is the largest musical festival of its kind northwest of Toronto, which draws extraordinary talent and some of the most acclaimed blues and jazz performers in Canada.
The festival has been immensely successful due to the outstanding talent but also because of the tremendous efforts performed by the festival's organizers, such as Larry Kurtz, artistic director for the festival. I commend the efforts of Mr. Kurtz, as well as the other festival organizers, and thank them for drawing such positive attention to the town of Orangeville and to the local businesses and organizations in our community.
On behalf of the residents of Dufferin—Caledon, I wish the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival great success in its fifth season.