LIGHTS ON! festival will illuminate area porches with music, art, and more

September 18, 2026 · 0 Comments

Local porches will be abuzz with activity on Saturday, September 26, when Porchlight Arts hosts its very first LIGHTS ON! Art & Music Festival.

The festival is the initiative of the Porchlight Arts collective, which was launched earlier this year by a group of Downtown Aurora residents, looking to bring some extra arts, culture, and fun to the Town’s historic core.

The Collective’s goal this year, in partnership with the Town of Aurora, was to transform porches in the downtown area into stages for live music, art and creativity – giving residents and visitors alike a free afternoon of community, culminating at Town Park at 5.30 p.m. with a live concert from the acclaimed Canadian band, The Sadies.

“Porchlight Arts launched earlier this year as a volunteer-led, grassroots initiative focused on celebrating and building community connection through arts and culture,” say organizers. “At our launch, we shared the idea of creating an event where people could wander through one of Aurora’s oldest neighbourhoods and unexpectedly encounter musicians and artists on local porches. On September 26, that idea will come to life.

“Beginning at 1 p.m., visitors will be able to walk through the neighbourhood from porch to porch for live performances and art. The musical lineup includes, among others, folk/indie singer-songwriter Krista Currie, Toronto-based alt-country/roots artist B. Knox, and Aurora jazz guitarist and composer James Brown.

“The event then moves into Town Park, where 10 visual artists will have work on display and for sale, alongside food and beverages. At 5:30 p.m., acclaimed Canadian band The Sadies will headline a free concert. What makes the event special is that it is free and isn’t taking place at a traditional venue. Residents are opening up their porches and yards, and artists and musicians are being woven right into the neighbourhood. The community is encouraged to experience Aurora in a unique way.”

Porchlight Arts co-founder Ariana Dalie is part of The Happiness Mafia, a live music and production company serving the GTA which has partnered with Aurora Town Square on a number of events, says the idea for LIGHTS ON! was to help grow the Town’s “arts scene.”

Bringing together a group of like-minded neighbours – “five different women with areas of expertise,” she says – their first step was to reach out to the community – and the community certainly answered the call.

“We’ve been very fortunate because we’ve received a lot of support from the community, and the community is really excited also that we’re doing this because local businesses are going to be able to be involved,” she says. “We’re providing opportunities also for artists, musicians, and anyone who has a passion for art and involving the community.

“At our kick-off event [earlier this year], people were interested and we had a lot of people volunteer their porches.”

These porches will form eight unique stages to visit on the day of the event.

“We have four porches with live music and four with art that people can browse and buy,” says Dalie, noting their website features an interactive map with locations all within walking distance of each other, biographies of participating musicians and artists and more. “It’s art and live music from 1 – 4 p.m., and then Art in the Park from 3 – 7 p.m.”

There are also volunteer opportunities for community members to get involved and help make the magic happen.

“We want participants to explore Aurora, to know that we have good things happening here, that there are people willing to bring something to the community that we can all enjoy for free, that we have a beautiful Town with community members that are willing to help out and make it a more vibrant community,” she adds. “We just want to make sure that people come out, enjoy the day and different art and music, and it is a [chance] to get to know your neighbours a little bit more. People from [all] parts of Aurora can spend an entire day where they can do a free activities… and end with a beautiful free concert by The Sadies.

“As this is our first year, we hope to continue to grow it and for people to get in touch if they want to be involved, whether it is a sponsorship, whether it is being part of our community – we’re always looking for people who have different types of expertise that can help us put this together.”

For more information, visit porchlightarts.ca.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter