Blueberries ready for Sudbury's annual festival
![John Lindsay, centre, is gettin ready to celebrate Sudbury's greatest above-ground natural resource with Sudbrina and Sud-Berry Bear. The 35th annual Sudbury Blueberry Festival kicks off on Sunday, July 14. Mia Jensen](https://nexus.prod.postmedia.digital/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SU.John-Lindsay-centre-is-gettin-ready-to-celebrate-Sudbur.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=DyXtEc0XpkEQCo2EBryA1Q)
Article content
The blueberries are ripe and the annual Sudbury Blueberry Festival is right around the corner.
Now in its 35th year, the festival is a celebration of Sudbury’s best “above ground natural resource” — the blueberry. It will be hosted at several venues across Greater Sudbury from July 14-21.
Blueberries in Sudbury are all natural, rather than cultivated. Festival chair John Lindsay calls Sudbury the “natural blueberry capital of the world.”
Lindsay says the festival started as a way to bring people to Sudbury. “We’ve had people from all around the world who’ve come and their fascinated that they can just go off the road anywhere in Greater Sudbury and you can pick blueberries, and you don’t have to pay.”
Lindsay says this year participants can enter into a draw for the chance to win a Sudbury Arts Council’s Passport to the Arts, an entertainment and food sampler package valued at $1,800. The passport provides offers from local arts organizations and restaurants to allow Sudburians to experience festivals, plays, workshops, concerts and more.
The event will kick off on July 14 at 7 p.m. at the William Bell Gazebo, featuring entertainment from Ashley Woodroof. Throughout the week, attendees can enjoy blueberry-themed events like the annual Celebrity Blueberry Pie Eating Contest on July 18, or the Blueberry Bash in The Market on July 20.
Other events include the 34th annual Skead Blueberry Pancake Breakfast on July 14, the Blueberry Hill Climb at Carmichael Arena on July 15, and the Red Oak Blueberry Social on July 16. On July 19, attend the Ukrainian Seniors’ 31st Annual Blueberry Family Garden Party or the One Eleven Seniors’ Blueberry Tea.
Guilty Pleasures Bakeshop will host its Blueberry Baking Bonanza from July 16-20, and the Sudbury Rock and Lapidary Society’s 37th Annual Sudbury Gem and Mineral Show will be held from July 19-21 at the Carmichael Arena.
And, of course, Sudbury’s “William and Kate” — Sud-Berry and Sudbrina Bear — will be at events around town all week.
A new blue baby bear will be on display at Monique Legault’s studio on Elgin Street throughout the week, as well.
The festival concludes on July 21 at 7 p.m., again at the William Bella Gazebo. The closing ceremonies will feature entertainment from Newcastle.
Lindsay says everyone is welcome. “Most of the events for the Blueberry Festival don’t charge admission unless it’s for a treat. Blueberries are not only free for the eating, but most of the events for the eating, as well.”
For more information, go to https://www.blueberryfestival.ca.
sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @Mia_RJensen
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.