Osoyoos firefighters dressed as elves and armed with hoses took on the crowds in a fierce water battle in front of Osoyoos Home Hardware during last year’s Canada Day parade. This year the annual Cherry Fiesta returns for its 71st year. (File photo)
From dawn to dusk and beyond, the 71st annual Cherry Fiesta will take over Osoyoos this Canada Day.
Osoyoos established the Cherry Fiesta (originally known as the Cherry Carnival) in 1949 to mark the beginning of the year’s cherry harvest, which historically begins on July 1.
Today, the combined Canada Day/Cherry Fiesta extravaganza is one of the most popular and anticipated events on the South Okanagan calendar, welcoming thousands of families, couples and merrymakers of all kinds.
The festival is a day-long affair. It kicks off bright and early on July 1 at 7:30 a.m. with the Rotary Pancake Breakfast, followed at 11 a.m. by the traditional Cherry Fiesta Parade on Main Street, featuring floats, dancers, a “water fight” hosted by the Osoyoos Fire Department, and much more.
Throughout the day, the town will be a hive of all-ages fun, with live entertainment, children’s activities, craft vendors, food trucks, a beer garden, and the Cherry Fiesta’s famous pie-eating and “pit spit” contests.
And at nightfall (approximately 10 p.m.), the skies above Gyro Beach will be lit up with a breathtaking fireworks display — the largest Canada Day fireworks display in Western Canada — choreographed to music.
