TORONTO - Thousands are expected to turn up at Ford Fest Scarborough Friday night.
Mayor Rob Ford is hosting the annual event in Thomson Memorial Park starting at 5 p.m.
"I welcome everyone to Ford Fest tonight," Ford said Friday ahead of the event. "Some people want to make this political, that's fine, come out and enjoy yourselves - free food, free drinks, free rides like we've been doing since 1995.
"I invite everybody, everybody can come out and enjoy themselves."
Ford and Councillor Doug Ford have promised politics won't be on the menu at this free barbecue while other mayoral candidates have objected to the mayor being granted a city park permit for what they maintain is a campaign event.
Candidates aren't allowed to use city facilities, including parks, for campaign events.
City officials will be at the event to ensure the parks bylaw is obeyed during the event.
Tracey Cook, the city's executive director of municipal licensing and standards, said there will be two bylaw officers and a supervisor at the event along with parks staff.
Licensing staff will be making sure the conditions of the permit are being followed.
"One of the conditions in the permit speaks to no signage and also speaks to not handing out political or campaign materials - that's a condition of the permit," Cook said Friday.
Bylaw officers will be on the lookout for signs or materials with "electioneering" type of language like "vote for" or re-elect."
"If it simply says, Ford Nation, Ford Fest, (or it is a) business card or magnet that's considered informational and that is fine," Cook said.
A ticket for a violation of the park bylaws would be around $200, she said, but bylaw officers would typically start by just asking for the activity to cease.
But bylaw officers won't be policing what the Fords say or do at the event.
"If there is a problem with anything said by anyone at the event then they are to follow that up with the integrity commissioner," Cook said. "My bylaw enforcement officers are not the campaign police. We are there to ensure the parks bylaw is adhered to, the permit conditions are adhered to."
The mayor promised he will be delivering a speech Friday night.
"Every year I get up and speak, every year I say this is what I'm elected to do and I have done it," Ford said. "I can talk about subways, I can talk about filling potholes, I can talk about customer service.
"I guess, you know, I can't talk about the election, I can't talk about campaigning."
Ahead of the event, the Fords extended invites to their mayoral rivals but at least one of the two main mayoral candidates won't be there.
Olivia Chow's campaign itinerary says she'll be at the Festival of Beer, the Beaches International Jazz Festival and the Caribbean Carnival Festival Gala on Friday night.
The John Tory campaign didn't respond to a request for his Friday night schedule.
