Thousands expected for Saturday’s Collinsville HOT festival

The fourth annual Collinsville HOT festival is Saturday with 16 different musical acts scheduled to perform on two stages.

CANTON, July 19 — The fourth annual Collinsville HOT festival is just a few hours away and organizers have put together a schedule of music, food and fun for visitors.

The festival will feature two stages of live music and 16 performers beginning at noon with the entertainment culminating with a fiery dance by Matika Arts with a cycle and fire show on the Remedy One stage overlooking the Main Street parking lot and a performance from Someone You Can Xray – a band that has grown from an acoustic duo into a tiny orchestra with a seven-piece stage ensemble.

Music will be performed on a second stage – the Wilson’s Pub stage – near the corner of River Street and Main Street.

A few dozen artists and businesses will be displaying their wares at the Craft and Artisian Fair beginning at 11 a.m. A dog parade will begin outside LaSalle Market at 11 a.m. and march up to the Wilson’s Pub stage.

For the fourth year, the Collinsville Press is one of the sponsors of the event that drew thousands to Collinsville last July.

Collinsville HOT begins on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with the annual free yoga session for dozens of men, women and children at the corner of Front and Main Street.

Free outdoor yoga will be held outside LaSalle’s Market beginning at 9 a.m.

For the children and all of us who are young at heart, the Chill Zone will be operating in the Main Street parking lot beginning at noon. The magic of Peter James will be on display for the kids beginning at 11:30 a.m. near the Green and Main Street.

Food from local restaurants and some food trucks will be available for everyone.

The Canton Historical Museum will be open on Saturday afternoon for free tours and there will be an ice cream social at Collinsville Congregational Church from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The dancers from Dance with Kristin will perform at 2 p.m. outside their studio on Main Street and there will be a wiffle ball competition in front of Wilson’s Pub on River Street in the afternoon.

A free shuttle service running from the Canton High School parking lot to Collinsville be running from noon to 10 p.m. Parking in downtown Collinsville will be extremely limited.

Canton Main Street, organizer of Collinsville HOT, will make a donation from the festival to the Substance Abuse Council/Youth Services Bureau. Donation jars will be available to the public to amplify these much-needed funds.

Collinsville HOT has invited representatives from the Substance Abuse Council/Youth Services Bureau as well as the Canton Mental Health Task Force and Town Departments to help members of the community illustrate and write THEIR script against addiction during the festival.

A dog parade will be held again kicking off at 11 a.m. outside LaSalle Market.

And if you can’t wait for Saturday, there are two events on Friday night.

Wilson’s Pub will be featuring the Jeremy Wallace Trio on Friday night while Bridge Street Live and the Canton Chamber of Commerce will present a HOT Night of Comedy at Bridge Street Live featuring Ben Hague.

Ben currently lives in New York City and performs weekly at the top clubs there. He starred in the highly-acclaimed 2015 web series “I’ll Call You.” Proceeds from the show benefit the Chamber Chamber of Commerce and their scholarship fund. The show begins at 8 a.m. with doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 general admission and $25 each for VIP reserved.

For more information about Collinsville HOT,  please visit www.collinsvillehot.com  or www.facebook.com/CollinsvilleHot/.