Main Street Jarvie was abuzz with activity last Saturday as a parade and a host of other activities took place in celebration of the annual Jarvie Days festival.
Hundreds of people lined the street for the big parade, which included entries from a variety of community organizations and more importantly, all manner of candy thrown to an eager audience.
“It was excellent; a lot of people came out,” said Clara Beamish, who was named as the Queen of Jarvie for the weekend event. “They always have such a good parade.”
She said she and the King of Jarvie, Leroy Logan, were pleased to accept the honour, even if all it entailed was riding in a horse-drawn wagon in the parade.
“We had fun. I had lots of great-grandchildren out there who were happy to see me,” she said.
Michelle Cuthbertson headed up one of the more unique parade entries, the Jarvie Rapid Transit system.
It was composed of a small lawn tractor pulling a series of small cars behind it, which were loaded with happy-looking kids.
“It was wonderful,” she said. “It was great to see so many people come out. What a great turnout.”
Her daughter Presley said it was exciting to take part in the parade. The best part was seeing so many people she knew.
“It was so much fun,” she added.
Teegan Kager, who was also riding in one of the cars, said the best part was getting to throw candy out to the eager crowd.
The parade was certainly one of the more exciting things that took place Saturday, but the action did not stop there. A slow pitch tournament as well as a horseshoe tournament gave people plenty to do, and a few local producers were selling fresh fruit and veggies.
One notable highlight was the presence of Owen, a Gelbvieh steer who was lucky enough to be born in June on a farm that normally calves in February.
“When we weaned and sold our cattle in September, he was just little, so then of course he hung around. Of course he hung around, and got to be an overgrown pet,” said Donna Beamish. “People can’t believe we’re not going to have him in our freezer.”
He’s broken to halter, so he can be lead, and was quite a popular addition to the festival.
Saturday’s festivities ended with a fireworks display at dusk, then the action picked up Sunday with a jamboree and the conclusion of the ball tournament.
