Summerland Pipe Band will lead off the parade on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (Contributed photo)
The countdown is on to the family-friendly Oliver Sunshine Festival, Thursday to Saturday, Aug. 16-18!
The weekend starts on Thursday, Aug. 16 with Music and Market in the Park featuring the Steve Jones Band from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Oliver Community Park.
On Friday, Aug. 17, bring your family and friends back to the park for Oliver’s first ever Rock and Roll Picnic, the official fundraiser for the Roots and Fruits Expo.
The evening will kick off at 6 p.m. with The Burying Ground, a band reminiscent of the music of the juke joints and jazz halls of the 1920s and ‘30s. At 8 p.m., expect the volume to crank a bit higher when High Voltage, the Okanagan’s best AC/DC tribute band, leaps onto the stage.
Come hungry. Your ticket includes hot, roasted corn and the best (and most creative) hotdogs you’ll ever eat: some of our area’s best chefs will compete for glory in the no-holds-barred “Top Dog” gourmet hotdog competition, and you get to taste-test all the delicious results. Chefs will use locally sourced ingredients to transform humble hotdogs into works of culinary art.
Oliver’s Firehall Brewery will be selling craft beer and the “Uncork the Sun Sangria Party” will feature white and red wine sangria mixed with local fruit available for purchase.
On Saturday, Aug. 18, plan to spend the whole day enjoying the second annual Roots and Fruits Expo. The Expo is an all day, free-to-all, fun-for-all-ages celebration of Oliver, its agriculture and its history.
The day kicks off at 10:30 a.m. with Oliver’s annual Sunshine Festival Parade along Main and Station streets, led by the Summerland Pipe Band. Once the parade wraps up, stroll down to the Oliver Community Park: the Roots and Fruits Expo gets rolling at 11 a.m. and is jam-packed with non-stop music and entertainment on two stages, with headliners including Victoria-based Celtic band, Knacker’s Yard, and local favourites ToonMade. Other Expo activities include everything from mechanical bull rides, pie eating contests, pony rides and baby goat petting, to a pop-up waterpark, a waterslide, bouncy castles, gold panning, an Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre exhibit, a beverage garden featuring local beer, cider and wine; a pop-up farmers’ market; food trucks; and so much more.
Build yourself a zucchini race car and get ready to roll at the Oliver Roots and Fruits Expo! A zucchini car is exactly what it sounds like: a whole or carved zucchini attached to or mounted on top of any kind of wheels, as long as the whole vehicle does not exceed 30 cm in width. Cars will race in pairs with the winner of each race moving on to the next heat. Prizes will be awarded to the fastest, most creative, and best looking cars built by competitors in each age category (under seven, 9-12, and 13 and over). Zucchini car making supplies will NOT be available onsite at the Roots and Fruits Expo: make your car at home and bring it along to race for glory!
Brand new this year, the Roots and Fruits Expo is offering an opportunity to showcase your artistic, culinary and gardening talents. Plan to enter your tastiest baking, best art, craziest-looking produce, and more in the Roots and Fruits Exhibition, set to take over the Oliver Community Hall during the Roots and Fruits Expo. Competitive categories include everything from collage to photography to sculpture, tomatoes to flowers to garlic, cookies to bread to canning. Kids are invited to participate too, with categories for those aged five and under, 6-8, 9-12 and 13-15. Exhibitor tags can be picked up at the Oliver Parks and Recreation office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. the week prior to the festival. Entries will be accepted at the Community Hall from 4 – 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17.
Full details about the exhibition including entry categories can be found in the prize book, available along with all Roots and Fruits event details, at http://www.oliverrecreation.ca/oliver-sunshine-festival/.
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Osoyoos Times
