I love this season in Saskatchewan. I spend a lot of time on the road as a storyteller and children's entertainer and I like to take advantage of the ice-free roads to visit family and friends.
I love to stop along the way taking photographs and learning more about my neighbours.
Even the smallest prairie towns want to show-off their unique heritage and pride and it is exciting to celebrate the hospitality of the region. Last weekend we were in Macklin during the World Championship Bunnock Tournament.
It was amazing to see the massive playing surface with 44 games set up at once. The event has room for 320 teams made up of people of all ages. I had only a vague idea of the rules of the game but was intrigued by the play and delighted to see so many people enjoying themselves at once.
The matches started on the hour and the half hour as teams of four lined up to face their opponents. There were boys and girls, men and women, players of all sizes, some in matching outfits, but most a mix of colours and styles there to enjoy themselves and auniqueold game.
Throughout this province small groups of volunteers put together world class events drawing crowds who return year after year. My children and I have built friendships with people we see only at certain music or cultural festivals and it broadens our own sense of community.
Every city, town and village has something to share and it makes this province an interesting place to explore.
Our population may have surpassed the million mark but even then our two "big" cities are still small in comparison to major centres around the world. There are still people who don't know where Saskatchewan is, but it seems more and more of this province's artists, musicians and writers as well as educators and scientists are making a name for themselves beyond our borders.
This week the Saskatoon band ,The Sheepdogs, won a major contest earning them a place on the cover of the Rolling Stone and a recording deal. We'll get a chance to see them again live when we attend the Battlefords' BridgeFest at the end of the month and enjoy a day at one of our favourite new Saskatchewan festival.
There is so much to do and see and the summer seems to fly by. I have to make choices several times a season about which direction to drive, wondering will it be music, literature, visual arts or food and am delighted when a festival throws in a mix of all of them and more.
The summer holidays are more than half over but there is no time to mope and lots more to see, hear and taste!
