BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Advertiser/Register
This year marks the 300th anniversary of the Anglican Church in Nova Scotia, and Anglicans throughout the Valley plan to celebrate with a fun fair set August 7 for Kingston Centennial Park.
Everyone is invited to the event. “You don’t have to be church people, you don’t even have to be Anglicans,” says committee member Mary MacLean. “Come along and join in what should be a really fun day.”
Many churches in the Annapolis Valley region of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and P.E.I., a large region that runs from Weymouth to Rawdon to New Germany, have booths planned for the event.
The Centennial Park in Kingston was chosen because it is central to the region, MacLean said, and also because it contains a bandstand and lots of shade under which tables and chairs can be placed. In the event of rain, the fair will be moved inside the adjacent Kingston Arena, so it will go ahead, rain or shine.
Along with the booths, which will feature a variety of goods – many of them free, some with a price attached – and displays, there are a number of games planned for the fair, which will run from noon to 6 p.m.
The activities include a free bouncy castle and a bouncy obstacle course, along with traditional ‘church picnic’ games like three-legged races, a duck pond, face painting and pony rides. There will also be ‘messy games’ like messy battleship.
A highlight of the afternoon should be the outhouse races, presented by Ernie’s Septic Services from Windsor. “We’re looking for teams of five – one light person and four ‘carriers’,” MacLean says.
There will be plenty of food at the fair. Service groups in the Kingston area have been invited to sell food, and some local businesses will also have booths set up selling food items such as pizza.
There will also be lots of music at the event, everything from Christian rock to a renaissance quartet to a massed choir.
Among the expected performers will be Sonlight, Shoulder to Shoulder, the Jason Burns trio, the St. Mary’s Singers, Valley Voices and Musique 400 performing period Acadian music and dance in period costume.
In fact, MacLean suggests that anyone wanting to attend the fair in period costume won’t be alone and likely won’t feel out of place.
“Normally, when Anglicans celebrate, we held a massed service, but that’s already been done,” says Michelle Bull, another member of the committee.
“We decided to organize this along the lines of a huge Sunday school picnic or church fair.”
Help Valley Anglicans celebrate their 300th anniversary in fine style! Mark August 7 on your calendar, and come one and come all for a fun afternoon!
To register for outhouse race or messy battleship, email mattspon@hotmail.com.
