When Londonderry Mall opened its doors 50 years ago, it was the largest two-level enclosed shopping centre in Western Canada. Join Londonderry Mall as it celebrates its 50th birthday with a parking lot festival, Londapalooza.
“I’ve always wanted to do something out of the box here at Londonderry just to get people back to the mall to re-experience all that we have to offer and I thought, ‘What is something kind of crazy that doesn’t typically happen at a shopping centre?’” says Vanessa Treleaven, assistant property manager of Londonderry Mall. “And I thought, ‘Why don’t we do a festival?’ We played off the whole Lollapalooza thing that happens in the United States and Londapalooza was born.”
Londapalooza is taking over the south parking lot just off 137th Avenue with food trucks like Sosyal Scoops and Smoke and Fire BBQ, a beer garden by Situation Brewing and a farmer’s market with 15 vendors.
Local artists and bands will take to the main stage throughout the day, ending with headliners Scenic Route to Alaska at 4:30 p.m.
“We’ve gone through two full renovations since the mall opened in 1972 — one happened in the ‘90s and then another one happened more recently from 2013 to 2016,” says Treleaven. “That’s the one that led us to the beautiful centre we have now and brought in retailers like Simons, H&M and Winners. We’re just super happy with where it is today.”
Londapalooza is happening at Londonderry Mall on August 13, 137th Avenue and 66th Street, from noon to 4:30 p.m. Tickets for the concert portion of the event are $15, and the food trucks and market are free to browse.
