SunFest London founder honoured with Order of Canada appointment

The founder of London’s SunFest is set to be honoured in Ottawa on Thursday. CTV London’s Nick Paparella has more.

SunFest London is truly the little festival that grew. Now, its founder and artistic director, Alfredo Caxaj, is receiving national recognition by being appointed to the Order of Canada in Ottawa on Thursday.

“I have a lot of emotions,” said Caxaj.

“My family is extremely grateful for this honour, and this is something perhaps we never thought about when we arrived in this country.”

For more than 30 years, SunFest is a music festival that brings the world together in London. 40 years ago, Caxaj and his young family arrived in Canada from a world away being political refugees from Guatemala.

“Being a political refugee is different than being an immigrant, because a political refugee is forced by the different circumstances to leave their countries,” said Caxaj.

“We came to a country and had to learn the culture, the language, and so much more.”

From Victoria Park in downtown London, SunFest is not only known as one of the top music festivals in southwestern Ontario, but it’s also known across the province and Canada.

World music artists from around the globe have been coming to the Forest City for more than three decades to perform.

“We thought it was going to be something incredible, and initially people were very pessimistic about this kind of festival, but we persevered,” said Caxaj.

“We hope through this festival, we have shown that arts play an incredible role in the social and political lives of those in our community.”

Caxaj will be one of 68 recipients on Thursday, and he gets very emotional when thinking about the honour.

“I want to thank my wife Patti, my son Alfredo Junior, Mercedes, and my grandson Emiliano, and I want to dedicate this recognition to everyone who has come to this country as a refugee and through hard work have made our communities a better place to live,” he added.