It takes a lot to drag Kingstonians away from their air conditioning units during the summer, but this year’s Skeleton Park Arts Festival (SPAF) certainly brought the heat.
As temperatures soared during last weekend’s summer solstice, artists, musicians, and creatives of all ages flocked to McBurney Park to attend SPAF’s 20th annual event. 2025’s program featured a variety of musicians, local food vendors, and artists as part of the Fat Goose Craft Fair. Wandering the colorful booths on Sunday afternoon, The Journal spoke with vendors about their experience at SPAF.
First-time SPAF vendor Danielle Prophet owns The Natural Tannery and discovered the festival through Instagram. Using bark, natural fats, and smoke, she tans hides and teaches classes in Perth, ON. “I’m here to remind people how nice it is to be tactile,” Prophet said in an interview with The Journal. “It feels really important”.
When asked about her experience at SPAF, she laughed and gestured to the nearby mainstage, where a band played to a lawn full of festivalgoers. “I love live music and community vibes. I’ve [often] left my booth to go dance and listen.” While the music and community draw many, SPAF also highlights local artists in other ways. Kingston-based comic artist Colton Fox’s series
Witch Hazel is featured as a full-page installment in the most recent edition of SPAF’s The Skeleton Press. free newspaper focuses on the Skeleton Park neighborhood and surrounding parts of the city.
Fox described SPAF as a great space to meet local creators. Because of its accessibility to artists of all stripes, it’s particularly suited for artists who are just starting out. “I recommend [SPAF] to new creators”, Fox said in an interview with The Journal.
Lingering by the mainstage, The Journal caught Lee Taylor, ArtSci ’78, and Liam Vachon O’Hearn, MA ’25, of Kingston’s retro-pop brass band Brass Over Tea Kettle unwinding after an electric set in the midday heat. Formed just over a year and a half ago, this is the band’s first time performing at SPAF. Taylor described the festival as a “bit of a bucket list item. We’ve been to [SPAF] before and thought, ‘that would be a good fit for us.’” Vachon O’Hearn had positive things to say about the band’s experience this year. “The food vendors are incredible. The arts and crafts are meticulously handmade, crafted locally. It’s really nice to see music uplift the community. It’s a fantastic place to be.”
Last week, SPAF Artistic Director, Greg Tilson, met with The Journal to reflect on the festival and its future. Tilson highlighted SPAF’s commitment to blending national acts with emerging local talent—like Polaris Prize-winner Cadence Weapon, performing just hours after local indie artist Almond Milk.
Overseeing all programming, Tilson recalled the festival’s grassroots roots, from its start as a neighborhood music event 20 years ago to today’s large-scale arts fair drawing crowds from across Kingston and beyond. The weekend kicked off with an unforgettable open mic night featuring acts like an Scottish bagpiper, a harpist, and even a live chicken chirping into the mic—moments Tilson calls unlike anything he’d ever seen.
“I always know how long I’ve lived in Kingston”, Tilson jokes, given he has been involved with SPAF since the very beginning. When Tilson moved to Kingston 20 years ago, The McBurney Park Neighborhood Association hosted a “Solstice Picnic”, which he and a community of neighborhood creatives eventually developed into SPAF.
Today, SPAF operates year-round, publishing a newspaper, hosting concerts and exhibits, and organizing events like Halloween parades and Easter egg hunts that deeply engage the neighbourhood, Tilson says. He encourages Queen’s students to explore Kingston’s evolving arts scene as a fun way to connect with the community. For Tilson, SPAF is about more than art—it’s about friendships and neighbourhood ties that feel more important than ever in an increasingly fragmented world.
SPAF’s next event features Kingston artist Rae Spoon at Musiikki Café on July 5 as part of their free concert series.
Tags
Art Festival, Skeleton Park, The Skeleton Press
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