A Few of my Favourite Things

The feeling of bare feet on freshly cut grass, the smell of sunscreen, and the taste of an ice-cold pilsner on a sweltering day. Sorry Julie Andrews, but these are a few of my favourite things. More specifically, these are things that I often associate with festival and events of the summer season. As painful as it is to remind my fellow Northwestern Ontarians, our summers are short and it’s best to optimize your time off while the days are long and hot. And with that in mind, we present our annual Summer Festival and Event guide to help you make the most of the season.

And it’s not just music festivals we’re talking about. From a street art festival to a paddle, pedal, and pound triathlon and even a festival celebrating blueberries, we showcase a variety of events that will appeal to everybody. In our guide, we provide useful information including where to stay and what not to miss—we even throw in some insider tips. And speaking of favourites and useful information, this year the Live From the Rock Folk festival celebrates 16 years. Whether you’ve been attending since its inaugural year or you’re planning on going for the first time, we’ve made an infographic with some essential info for festival-goers.

Also in the issue, Alex Kruse chats with Thunder Bay native and Canadian folk music icon Ian Tamblyn, who will be returning to Red Rock this year, Chef Rachel Globensky serves up a fruit salad recipe for grownups (spoiler alert: it has booze in it), and Leah Ching gets a sneak peek at the Superior Theatre Festival. Plus, just in time for summer, Kat Lyzun lets the secret out about Greenstone’s little-known, yet excellent canoe routes.

This July marks The Walleye’s eight year anniversary. Thank you to our dedicated team of contributors and staff, as well as our readers and advertisers; without you and Thunder Bay’s flourishing arts and culture scene, we wouldn’t exist.

-Adrian Lysenko