MIDALE - Midale celebrated its farming history during the August long weekend, thanks to the Souris Valley Antique Association’s (SVAA) annual Pioneer Echoes weekend.
“Overall … it was a good weekend,” said SVAA committee member Glenn McGregor. “Lots of people came out. It looked like everybody was having a good time. The parade ran pretty well, for the most part, and threshing went well.”
Each day started with a pancake breakfast in downtown Midale. Then the attention shifted to the pioneer village. People could tour the village and view the different buildings, such as the school, the hall and the blacksmith, listen to live music and visit with several different vendors.
One of the big attractions, the parade, began at 2 p.m. each day, and featured dozens of antique tractors. Another highlight, the annual threshing demonstration, happened after the parade.
New for this year was a cornhole tournament, which McGregor said was a success, and will continue in future editions of the Pioneer Echoes weekend.
“Lots of people were having fun with it, and that was good to see as well,” said McGregor.
The vendors were very happy with the number of customers they had, and thought it was a good weekend for sales.
“Our blacksmith said that he saw a bit of a larger crowd come through this year, and he had a good weekend this year, making some good items for people and selling them,” said McGregor.
Without gate admission, it’s hard to tell how many people attended the various activities. People were spread out due to the heat, but McGregor believes attendance was around 500-600 people.
The audience seemed to be at its peak for the parade, but there were good crowds throughout both days. Due to the heat, some people came earlier in the day, and McGregor said they were walking through the village and seeing all that it has to offer.
More than 30 people volunteer throughout the weekend to make the Pioneer Echoes festivities possible.
“We have such a good community where people just jump in and help out wherever needed,” said McGregor. “We have a lot of people that show up during our weekend … so to get an actual number of volunteers is tough.”
