This year’s Forsythia Festival King and Queen have been named!

Lenny Long and Erica Benson

Lenny Long of Sackville St. was nominated by a number of people for Festival King. He was born in the neighbourhood and has lived in the area for many years and was previously recognized as part of our “good neighbour” campaign a couple of years ago for his efforts in helping neighbours to clear snow and ice. He was mentioned many times by nominators for his kindness and thoughtfulness toward his neighbours (he was even referred to as the “Mayor Of Sackville St.”!). Whether shovelling neighbours’ snow, sweeping away their leaves, clearing drains, donating his garage sale proceeds to charity…all done with and all with a friendly word for everyone.

Erica Benson is also a long-time resident and has been described as a “Cabbagetown Lover”. She has been an activist for improving the neighbourhood and recently spearheaded the Poopapalooza effort to clean up the parks of winter dog droppings and was instrumental in keeping the stairs clear of ice and snow that lead into the lower bowl of Riverdale Park West.

Congratulations to Lenny and Erica, and thank you for your contribution to the community!