On September 18, the Toonerville Music Festival was held behind Rockwells American Restaurant. It featured artists such as Nash Neal, Fastball, Spring Heeled Jack, The Verve Pipe, and more. They were joined by PMHS students, including freshman Sade Fox, and senior Malia McLellan both singer/songwriters.

“Toonerville was such a great opportunity to play my original songs in the same vicinity as huge bands like The Verve Pipe and Fastball was extremely thrilling,” McLellan said. “The turnout was amazing and I really enjoyed seeing the town support both local artists and big name artists!”

The festival also had many food vendors so people could eat while enjoying the festival. There was Walter’s Hot Dogs, Lat-u-sion known for their Peruvian Latin fusion, The Main Lobster known for their lobster rolls, and others.

The Toonerville Music Festival also had a trolley called The Free Toonerville Trolley. The blue and brown trolley with the name Stella written on it in gold took riders throughout Pelham where individuals could hop on and off, even if they weren’t going to the music festival.

The inspiration for the Toonerville Music Festival came from an old trolley that existed in the early 1920’s, the Pelham Manor Trolley. It ended up inspiring a cartoonist named Fontaine Fox. He was most famous for writing and illustrating Toonerville Folks, which ran from 1913 to 1955 and appeared in more than 250 newspapers across North America. Sadly, the glorious Pelham Manor Trolley made its final run in 1937 and gave their final ticket to Fontaine Fox.