When McMaster University student Margaret Qin looked out the window of her classroom in downtown Hamilton this spring, she saw more than just a busy city street.

She saw potential.

Qin, who's in fourth-year human behaviour studies, is putting lessons from her courses into action by organizing the first-ever King William West Fest, a one-day street festival on Aug. 30 that will take place on a stretch of King William Street, filling it with art, music and vendors.

"I wanted to show that students can be part of the city, not separate from it," said Qin, 20. "If I can bring people downtown for a day — to hear live music, shop local, or just walk with friends — that already changes how we think about Hamilton's core."

From classroom idea to city street

The idea grew out of Qin's Urban Inn

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