One of Canada’s most historic towns celebrated its annual Peach Festival, at the peak of peach season and just one week after many residents experienced disastrous flooding.
Niagara-on-the-Lake recently celebrated the last of three annual festivals honoring the town’s agricultural history and tender fruit. For more than 30 years, the municipality has shut down Queen Street, the main street running through the lakefront town, to honor and bring attention to the region’s peaches.
The festival, organized by the Chamber of Commerce, is held to bring awareness to local produce by attracting tourists and increasing business for the small town.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa says tender fruit is a big part of the town’s tourism growth.
“It’s just a great day to really recognize the importance of farming in our community and also attract some visitors to town.”
Visitors traveled from near and far, including from as far south as Florida. One couple on vacation came across the event by surprise.
“We are on vacation, and we just kind of stumbled in. We’re visiting, wanted to visit Niagara-on-the-Lake. So, it was the perfect weekend for it. It’s amazing,” the couple said. “We’re having a lot of fun.”
For local homeowner Lisa Molnar, the festival, which takes place during the peak of peach season, is an opportunity to celebrate the town’s agricultural roots.
“I think it’s so important to have festivals that highlight the agricultural aspect of a town,” Molnar said. “It lets visitors who might not know the area get a little bit more information and context about the area, and I think as somebody who lives here, too, it’s just so nice to celebrate the different fruits that we have access to.”
Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to a large farming community and several farms that produce grapes, strawberries, cherries, peaches, corn and other crops.
Zalepa also spoke about the seasonal produce available at the festival.
“Any one of our local fruit stands will have tons of great Niagara produce right now,” Zalepa said. “The yellow plums, nectarines are out. They’re fabulous right now, and this is the time, they’re all running full.”
For Connie Pillitteri, a lifelong resident and daughter of local farmers, the festival is about more than selling fruit.
“I’ve grown up in the community my whole life, and my parents were farmers, so just the recognition of the hard work of all the farmers — that’s my favorite part. Just celebrating our peaches, and our harvest,” Pillitteri said.
Pillitterri worked at the festival’s Terry Fox Run booth, selling T-shirts.
Her favorite part of the celebration?
“We get to bring the peaches into the community.”
And the peaches were in no short supply — until all produce was sold out.
Stands offering peach pies, cookies, jams, ice cream and fresh-from-the-market items lined the street as patrons made their way through the festival, trying unique peach-infused treats.
Molnar, who has attended the festival for the past decade, said this year’s festival offered a variety of options.
“There are a lot of vendors and some cute stalls,” Molnar said. “We ate a very delicious peach milkshake, which was the highlight for me.”
For another town resident, who chose to remain anonymous, a peach matcha was the perfect infused treat.
But their favorite part of the festival was the people, coming together despite a rocky week.
“Just seeing the town full of people, everyone enjoying it. I think that was the highlight!”
