We are finally coming into my favourite time of year.
I love the warm weather and long, sunny days. I love hitting up patios, barbecues, getting out by the river and heading out to the mountains.
What I like the most are all the events going on. There’s something fun and interesting going on practically every weekend for the next three months. Some people call it summer.
For me, it’s events season.
There no shortage of things to do, Parade Day is coming in both Okotoks and Black Diamond and the Dawgs season is just getting into swing. The Soap Box Derby, Lemonade Day, the Clothesline Art Sale at the Leighton Art Centre are all coming up. I’m already getting impatient waiting for the Millarville Farmers Market to open.
This is all just in the next month.
This is one of the best parts of living in the Foothills. There’s so much going on here through the summer and all the communities go to such great lengths to host events.
And I love how many of them involve food: Taste of Okotoks, Lemonade Day, the Chuckwagon Cook-off at the Bar U, ChiliFest and farmers markets in Millarville, Okotoks and High River. And, there are so many pancake breakfasts.
It all makes the summer the best time to work at a community newspaper, if you could even call it work. Covering parades and summer events has always been one of the best parts of this job. My first weekend on the job 11 years ago (has it been that long already?) was spent at the Little Britches Parade and Rodeo in High River one day and the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site the next. I was like, you mean I get paid to do this.
I’ve been to many parades and rodeos since then and they never get old. And, the Bar U Ranch is still one of my favourite destinations anywhere.
Summer’s coming, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again this year.
