Canada's Walk of Fame announces 4-day festival

The admission of new members into Canada's Walk of Fame thisOctober will be accompanied by a four-day festival featuring performances by Paul Anka, Burton Cummings and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

A series of concerts and a comedy show with Canada's top comedians will be held in Toronto fromOct. 14 to 17, withthe induction ceremony set for Oct. 16.

Canada's Walk of Fame, along Toronto's King Street, is a row of stars set in the pavement that honours sports, music and acting celebrities.

This year's inductees are musician David Clayton-Thomas, actor Eric McCormack, singer Nelly Furtado, author Farley Mowat, filmmaker-actress Sarah Polley, Olympian Clara Hughes and the late magician Doug Henning.

Walk of Fame organizers announced Wednesday that theywill use financing from the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund to createthe four-day festival, featuring more than 50 performances.

Most of the events will be free. The festival will have a focus on emerging talent, organizers said.

However a series of high-profile galas will be ticketed, among them:

• Oct. 14: Ottawa-raised singer Paul Anka at Massey Hall.
• Oct. 15: Winnipeg singer-songwriter Burton Cummings at Massey Hall.
• Oct. 16: Saskatchewan-born singer and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie at the Elgin.
• Oct. 17: The Best of the Canadian Comedy Awards.

Anka andSainte-Marie,as well asCummings's rock group the Guess Who, are past Walk of Fame inductees.

Mary Walsh, Colin Mochrie, Don Ferguson, Roger Abbott and Debra DiGiovanni are set to take part in the comedy awards.