In praise of the dandelion
Wallace hosting 12th annual Dandelion Festival with yard sales, pancake breakfast, canoe flotilla
WALLACE, N. S. – It’s dandelion time again in Wallace.
This Saturday, Wallace will hold another Dandelion Festival.
Doug Perry, president of the Wallace Area Development Association, got the idea for the festival from his son, who lives in Ottawa. He went to a similar festival in a small community outside Ottawa and saw how it brought people out in the spring.
“It’s a great way to get people out of their homes to enjoy the community and the spring weather,” Perry said. “Hopefully we can get a little sunshine.”
From the first festival in 2008, the goal is to get people out for a day of fun. There are numerous events in the community and it’s been very successful for some of the organizations that hold yard sales and other events.
“One Christmas my son sent me a painting from a dandelion festival in the Ottawa area. I was really intrigued by it and thought this could work in Wallace,” Perry said.
“Some of the things they do there I figured we could do here. I went to the development association and said this is something we should try and the board agreed and said I could organize it.”
There are yard sales at the community hall, Wallace Elementary, Zella’s Antiques, the Fox Harbour church and others.
There will be a dandelion art display by elementary school students as well as a breakfast at Wallace Elementary, including pancakes and sausages in the cafeteria, and a plant sale in front of the school.
Join a flotilla of canoes and kayaks down the Wallace River beginning at 1:30 p.m. The launch is at Kerrs Mills Bridge and participants can paddle downstream with the ebb tide.
Another popular attraction is the arrival at the wharf of the lobster boats with their daily catch. Perry said a lot of people go directly to the boats and buy their lobster.
“The harbour authority has been very supportive of this in recent years. There was a time when access to the wharf was restricted, but that has changed and people are encouraged to come out to meet the boats as they arrive and purchase their lobster fresh off the boat.”
The Order of the Eastern Star is hosting a supper of fish cakes and beans at the Masonic Hall from 4 to 6 p.m. and there will be music, featuring the Elliott’s, at the community hall at 7 p.m. On Sunday, there will be a ball game at the ball field featuring workers from Aquashell.