Southside Shuffle

It may be raining outside but that hasn’t stopped a small crowd from enjoying this festival. Dancing under umbrellas is way more fun anyway!
The music is fantastic with a mix of lively and serious. There are various food trucks available to satisfy hunger pangs that range from BBQ to butter chicken and phad Thai. The quality may not be the best but good enough to enjoy with your Mill St.
Come on down everyone! This festival deserves your support.

One of the biggest and best (and most tenured) music festivals in the Mississauga area! I had the opportunity to attend the festival as a patron and as a vendor, so I was able to see the festival from multiple perspectives and essentially give this a very well rounded review.
From the patron perspective there is more live music than you could hope to see in a full weekend. With the Blues and Jazz crowd, whom I might add traveled from great distances to be here (I spoke with people who traveled as far as rural Quebec), this is the best festival. I’m fairly new to the B&J scene, so my working knowledge of popular acts and acts that I like is limited, however I did find I connected with several artists over the weekend.
I loved the stage set up in Memorial Park, if you were fortunate enough to sit in the VIP section, you merely had to turn your chair as you were conveniently located in the middle of two off setting stages!
My one note is that the demographic of this festival is a touch on the older side, which is good in some regards as you won’t have to worry about rambunctious teens and 19 – 22 years olds spoiling your evening. That said this crowd is definitely a predominately baby boom generation. Gen X’ers and Millennials, I’d recommend knowing what and who you want to see if you plan to attend, and bring your friends or you will be the minority in the crown.
From the exhibitor/​vendor perspective, the event is extremely well organized and all vendor, sponsor and participant needs are exceeded. Easy to load in, set up, unload, etc.
Great festival for Mississauga, Peel and the GTA. If you’ve never been, definitely check them it next year!

Like Karen L mentioned, this event had potential… that was unfortunately rained out within the first act. Oh well, no fault of Kris U though ’cause participating Unilocalers did have their own section, in the VIP tent, AND a free drink to boot!
Alas, it was just not meant to be as standing underneath a tent — or a tree — is not safe during a thunderstorm. Who knew? (Well, the tree part is pretty obvious!)
So even though we weren’t able to fully enjoy the music that was supposed to be intended for our ears, we did get to know one another while take cover at the Port Credit Arena. :) Something that I don’t think would be impossible during a concert. Live music can be pretty loud and disturbing to a conversation!
A for effort and until next year, Southside Shuffle!
Shoutouts to the first-​timers at this event! Don’t worry, they don’t get rained out often. ;) Please come again.

The event was cut short by a roaring clouds with thunder, winds and rain. Despite this, it was a fun night gathering, meeting other Unilocalers members and sharing few good laughs and experiences and future events.
The first 30 minutes without the storm was also great. Jazz music, private tent and complimentary drink, Unilocal never disappoints. It was a trip to see older peeps enjoy and grooving to the music. And the private tent made me feel important :).
The event also had lots of food vendors that I wish I could’ve tried. Also, a great lineup of bands that I wish I could’ve heard. That will have to wait next time.
So despite the weather, the night was not bad. It wasn’t a waste, and thanks Kris to always going above and beyond to setting up these amazing events. Your hard work is greatly appreciated.

I know this had the potential to be a five star event!!!
Mother Nature just didn’t cooperate. She shut us down, fast. Real fast. The gloomy clouds crept up on us. The flashing lightning and the torrential downpour seemed never ending.
Nonetheless, I’m glad I had the chance to get to know a few new Unilocalers. Although it was inside the arena, we were able to sit and enjoy each others’ company.
Kris, I know you missed out on some of the festivities because we came so late. Thanks for always being such a positive and gracious host.