Harvest Festival
Thousands soak in the atmosphere of Bell Aliant Mammoth Street Parade.
Thousands of spectators staked their places along the curb of downtown Kensington – with umbrellas in tow – to watch the Harvest Festival Parade.
“Usually we can get around 140 floats and entries, but this year we got 155 participants in the parade, which is great even with the weather,” said the organizer Robert Wood, who acknowledged that the parade is a highlight of the 50th annual Harvest Festival. Onlookers huddled under blankets made from ponchos as revelers rambled by, honking horns and tossing candy to the delight of children, while the thump of music spilled from floats, as well as the beat of a marching band. However, onlookers saved their biggest cheers for the handsome horses, and welltrained pooches that performed incredible tricks with their trainers amid the floats that rolled by.
Krista Campbell and her dog, Pumpkin, were “jumping for joy” while representing Duke Ferguson’s Unleashed Potential.
“I got involved in the parade because Pumpkin, as a rescue dog, was aggressive towards other canines, so we are representing Unleashed Potential for training. Sara (Bryanton) has rehabilitated Pumpkin, who is now fantastic, so we just wanted to show them our support.”
Bryanton, a certified professional dog trainer from Unleashed Potential, based in Stratford, says she has trained 100’s of canines by diagnosing problems, offering solutions, coaching, and helping owners recognize their recent successes.
“We do classes in Stratford and Kensington, and we do everything from puppy management, obedience, advanced obedience, behaviour modification and aggression rehabilitation,” she said.
The Mammoth Street Parade on Saturday afternoon, sponsored by Bell Aliant, celebrated the theme, “Bringing Back the Classics.”
All the former winners from the last 49 years were participating on floats.
“One of the big things with the parade is trying to bring diversity and new groups, so we had a lot of horses, wagons, and a marching band (again this year), and the community has been really supportive with the different businesses,” noted Wood.
He added, “We always want to keep people in and around town after the parade, and there are usually 4,000 or 5,000 people lining the streets. So we have the Family Day after, and we have a mini golf course, bounce houses, balloon twisters, face painters and petting zoo.”
The Harvest Festival kicked off Friday, August 18, and concludes Wednesday evening in Kensington with the Miss Community Gardens 2017 Crowning Ceremony.