Explore the magic of scarecrows and sweets
Harvest festivals prove popular in rural Saskatchewan
The hum and bustle of the crowd milling down James Street filtered through the shady trees as my car rolled to a stop at the end of the short side street. The town’s unique harvest festival had attracted more visitors than usual this year.
What draws us to harvest festivals? Is it the need to celebrate the end of another year, or the longing to prolong the warmth of summer, even a little while longer? Maybe a combination of all those feelings.
In the town of Lumsden (pop 1800), nestled in the picturesque Qu’Appelle valley a twenty-minute drive northeast of Regina, there’s a different slant to the event. It has easily doubled the town’s population on one September Saturday for the past nine years.
Scarecrows! These homemade protectors guard the bridge, hide among the trees, and keep watch over local residences. They lounge along the streets and in front of houses and businesses.
Scarecrows wave from apartment balconies. The cuter ones beckon kids into the Lions’ Park, where a petting zoo, bouncy houses, storytime, and other outdoor fun await.
Dubbed the “coolest scarecrow festival in Canada” by Exploring Canada in 2021, Lumsden goes all-in for this once-a-year treat. Businesses and artisans from Lumsden organized the event, and several other towns and groups took part. This year’s event took place on September 28, as well, heralding Canada’s newest fall holiday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.
Once known as Orange Shirt Day, this day is meant to commemorate the devastating impact of residential schools, to honour those who never returned as well as the Survivors. It’s an important part of Canada’s commitment to reconciliation. Notably, volunteers in orange T-shirts were on hand throughout the day, herding cars into parking spaces and crowds to and from the various activities.
This year, the long-awaited day began with a pancake breakfast that seems to be a tradition in all local events on the Canadian prairies. Tents and kiosks offered T-shirts, jewelry, art, ceramics, crafts, tattooing, face painting, and more.
A variety of foods tempted the crowds, from burgers and refreshments to tasty homemade baked goods like pies, cookies, and kettlecorn — with more vegan and gluten-free options than I expected to see.
A number of other activities, including hayrides with the Prairie Percherons from Marquis, were featured during the day. Events continued from 9 am through the afternoon street fair and late into the evening, ending with a lantern parade, outdoor movie, and fireworks.
Sometimes exploring your own neighbourhood leads to unexpected adventures. I confess that I’ve always been fascinated by the town of Lumsden, and I’ve been to the Scarecrow Festival almost every year of its nine year history. Before that, I often drove out to the market gardens in the area at this time of year.
I enjoyed those trips so much I even set my most recent short story, “Angel Wing” (published in the anthology Ghostly) in a fictional market garden—but with no resemblance to any actual market garden, of course! The ghost in my story is trapped in a room, his spirit caught in a plant he grew while alive, until his daughter comes to collect her legacy. Using a market-garden setting allowed me to explore relationships and such themes as nurturing vs abandonment more broadly.
Autumn is the prettiest time to see the prairie, when the trees blaze with yellow, orange, and rust-red leaves as a final protest against the coming cold. Harvest fairs and festivals are a tradition for many cultures and countries.
In Saskatchewan, corn mazes, rodeos, hand-carved pumpkin displays, and other Halloween-themed events are featured. One site suggests more than thirty festivals and twenty outdoor activities to enjoy this month across the province. Another shows harvest suppers happening almost every day in the month of October.
Have you ever been to a harvest festival? What did you enjoy most? Subscribe to leave a comment and share your experiences.
Coming Friday
Harvest festivals bring to mind many fun traditions, including pumpkin carving. But there are many more designs available to avid carvers today than the usual Jack-O-Lantern face. Marie has been ferreting out designs and ideas to give paid subscribers a new take on this old tradition with the next Travel and Culture newsletter on Friday, October 18. If you purchase a paid subscription after that date, you’ll be able to access the archives.
Next Week
What would you do if you discovered your town’s mayor had been murdered? Join Ann Marie Ackermann as she describes her research for her award-winning book, Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee (Kent State University Press, 2017). Ann Marie will also share a chapter from the book. And on Friday, paid subscribers will learn about Hefezopf, southern Germany’s traditional food for a funeral repast. It’s a centuries-long tradition with archaeological evidence from graves.
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