When I was a kid, grade 8 students from schools all over Orillia had to go to King St. school one afternoon a week for shop/home economics. Students who had skipped a grade were 12 years old, and of course we were allowed to use the town bus, since a school bus was not provided for that purpose. I would think the children of today are just as capable.
Yes, that is a well-known fact. But fewer people would have time to attend an event on a Monday night. It is common to hold a party on a weekend near a birthday.
St. Thomas Ontario has a main street (Talbot St.) more than a dozen blocks in length. All on-street parking is free with a two hour limit. There are also 6 or 7 municipal lots with free two hour public parking. It is convenient to make a few stops downtown without ever having to worry about paying for parking. It might be interesting to find out how they finance free parking for shoppers in the downtown core.