Fiddles, Potatoes & Fireworks!

Apparently, Shelburne is known for its yearly fiddle festival. Every August the city is host to a national fiddling competition which becomes a weekend long jam session. There is an open air market, a parade and concerts throughout the weekend. That's a lot of action for population 5,500!
http://www.shelburnefiddlecontest.on.ca/

Some samples of the parade going by our place.

 

At the same time neighboring town Alliston, which happens to be surrounded by potato farms, hosts their yearly potato festival. This entails a carnival, open air market, a parade and concerts... I feel like there is a pattern here for festivals in rural Ontario...
http://www.allistonpotatofestival.com/

On the way to Alliston

Yes those are real goldfish in bowls. If you get a ping pong ball in a bowl you win a prize!

The eats.

A few weeks ago there was a fireworks festival in neighbouring town Mount Forrest. This was also, you guessed it, a carnival and open air market. All followed by a spectacular fireworks display set to music. Apparently this is put on by award winning fireworks specialists. Jamil and I made it to the fireworks display this year and it was pretty cool. A lot like something Toronto would put on for Canada Day, without the craziness of all those crowds and traffic. Definitely a must see if you want to experience the typical country fair type atmosphere.
http://www.mountforest.ca/fireworks/index.php

We managed to get a taste of all three this year. Truly this is country life at its best. Greasy, sugary carnival food and all!