8 fun things to do on P.E.I. this weekend
It's almost half-way through summer and you still haven't gone out to catch some theatre or live music?
Consult this guide to find something to interest you this weekend.
1. O'Leary Potato Blossom Festival
The Potato Blossom Festival began as an annual event in O'Leary, P.E.I., in 1968 celebrating the potato crop as it reaches peak bloom.
It started Monday and finishes up this Sunday. See the full schedule here.
Some of the highlights: Friday evening there's a potato cooking competition at the O'Leary Sports Centre and a dance for kids 12 and under at the Legion from 6:30 til 8:30.
Saturday there's a 5 or 10 kilometre Memorial Spud Run starting at the O'Leary School at 7:30 a.m., then a farmer's market at the Legion from 9 a.m. to noon.
Parade time is 1 p.m. on Main Street, and will feature about 20 floats, fire trucks, antique tractors, local horses and the Miss Potato Blossom Pageant contestants — the winner was crowned Thursday night. Then take the kids to the O'Leary Fire Hall for a kids' day with zip lining, rock climbing, hot dogs, fire truck rides and more.
Sunday there's brunch at the Legion, a day-long washer toss competition, a car show, more kids' activities and a gospel concert, all topped off with fireworks at dusk.
2. SandJam 2016
It's the first time the SandJam beach volleyball tournament will be held in Summerside, P.E.I. — in past years it was in Halifax.
Friday through Sunday, four Canadian men's and four Canadian women's teams will compete for $10,000 in prize money.
The Summerside waterfront will get a temporary makeover for the event, with two temporary Olympic-size beach volleyball courts and stadium seating, and organizers hope to attract about 2,000 spectators in the inaugural year.
The event goes rain or shine.
"It's an event that takes a great deal of risk," Derek Martin of Sports and Entertainment Atlantic, the company that runs SandJam. "There's always the threat of rain. We'd been quite lucky in Halifax we hadn't seen any rain in four years."
The City of Summerside approached Martin to bring the event to P.E.I. as part of the lobster festival.
"For us it was a chance to be part of something new and to be part of something bigger, as well as try it in a new place," said Martin.
The city already replenishes the sand on its beach, so is providing the sand to the event for free, then taking it to the beach afterward. In Halifax, SandJam organizers had to pay to bring in sand, and also to dispose of it.
Day passes cost $10 for youth and seniors, $15 for adults, 3-day passes are $25 and $35 and are available online or at the gate. If you can't make it there in person, it's also being broadcast on Eastlink throughout the Maritimes.
3. National Park Surf Guard Competition
Want more beach? Wrap up a day in the national park with the annual surf guard competition on the sand in the P.E.I. National Park Saturday at 7 p.m. If you come after 6 p.m., park admission is free!
About 30 surf guards will demonstrate their life-saving skills doing mock rescues and participate in games in a relay and games. The competition will last about 1.5 hours.
4. Joel Plaskett at Indian River
Joel Plaskett takes the stage this Saturday night at 7:30 in Indian River, P.E.I., for the first time, as part of the award-winning Indian River Festival.
Plaskett will play a solo acoustic performance highlighting new songs from his latest recording, The Park Avenue Sobriety Test. The singer is known for his scrappy, thoughtful East Coast anthems, and is described as "the unofficial mayor of Halifax" and a "champion of regionalism." There's even a new book about him, Nowhere With You, titled after his iconic song.
If you've never been to the historic St. Mary's Church where the concerts happen, you're in for a treat — the French Gothic-style 1902 church, designed by famed Island architect William Critchlow Harris, is breathtakingly beautiful. Surrounded by fields of happy dairy cattle, the church is renowned for its great acoustics.
Tickets are $40 to $42 taxes in.
5. Dave Gunning in Souris
Singer-songwriter Dave Gunning, who hails from Pictou, N.S., just across the Northumberland Strait, will play The Centre Stage in the Souris Kids Youth Centre — formerly St. James United Church.
Gunning is known for his hockey song, A Game Goin' On, which won CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest in 2014. The song was produced by Joel Plaskett, who's playing a competing concert on the same night at the other end of the Island.
- Dave Gunning wins CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest
What can guests expect? "Laughter, a few new songs and stories! Can't wait to come back," Gunning tweeted CBC.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the Evergreen Cafe on Main Street in Souris, online at www.sourisliveinc.com, call (902) 327-0555 or take a chance at the door. The show starts at 7:30. More info here.
6. The Glass Menagerie
Watermark Theatre in North Rustico, P.E.I., formerly The Montgomery Theatre, has some seats so close to the stage you could reach out and touch the actors. This theatre-in-the-round concept puts the audience right in the action in The Glass Menagerie, the classic tension-filled drama by Tennessee Williams, written in 1945.
It stars Islander Gracie Finley who came to fame as Anne of Green Gables in several seasons at The Confederation Centre. She took a nearly 30-year break from acting, but after becoming a summer resident nearby was lured back to the stage in Rustico in 2013.
In The Glass Menagerie, Finley shines in the challenging role of Amanda Wingfield, the aging southern belle abandoned by her husband during the Depression. Three other very talented actors round out the cast.
Tickets range from $13.40 for students to $43 for premium seating, and there is bar service and air conditioning.
7. Brunch at The Trailside
The Trailside in Mount Stewart holds the Hillsborough River Gospel Brunch every Sunday during July and August featuring The Emeralds, a female trio — Islanders Natalie Sullivan, Hannah Rose and Melissa MacKenzie — singing choice gospel mixed with classic roots, country and soul favourites.
For $22 you get brunch with unlimited coffee or tea.
"Full bar service will be available, Halleluhah!" the venue's website says. There are two seatings —10:30 and 12:30, and reservations are recommended.
8. Rock Barra concert with Teresa Doyle
Teresa Doyle and her son Patrick Bunston kick off a summer of Sunday night concerts at Rock Barra artists' retreat near Hermanville in eastern P.E.I. Showtime is 7:30.
East Coast Music Award winner Doyle describes the event as "an evening of lively music" from her 12 recordings, spanning folk, Gaelic, celtic and jazz.
Patrick is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and songwriter and together they've toured in seven provinces and Yukon.
"This mother-son team has a lovely family vocal blend, a Maritime sense of humour and a warm-hearted rapport that appeals to any audience, young or old," a release on the concert series states.
For the schedule with the rest of the summer, including Richard Wood and Gordon Belsher Aug. 10 and Treble with Girls Aug. 21, click here.
