Summer officially got underway last week-end with not one but two family fun fairs in Blackburn Hamlet and Beacon Hill.

Free from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Blackburn Hamlet Fun Fair was just that – FUN. Partially due to the freedom of not having to worry about catching the virus that had affected so many, and partially due to some of the best weather the fair has enjoyed in years, fair-goers were able to let loose and enjoy what is essentially an annual reunion of sorts and renew acquaintances with their friends and neighbours.

The fair kicked off last Friday with inflatable rides, a climbing tower, a movie night in the featuring the all ages production of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and a craft beer night in the designated beer garden for the adults.

But Friday provided only a small taste of the main event on Saturday which started off with the traditional pancake breakfast followed by the annual Fun Fair parade down Bearbrook Avenue from École secondaire publique Louis-Riel to the fair itself.

It seemed that nearly everyone in Blackburn Hamlet took part in the parade along with a few outsiders.

After the parade, it was time to take in all that this year’s fair had to offer including Little Ray’s Reptiles, the Dunk Tank, a climbing wall, traditional fair games like the ring toss and a duck pond. There was also an inflatable ride area, face-painting and a magic show.

Later in the day and into the evening, the beer garden began to fill up in anticipation of the live entertainment which featured the band Ambush. which has a huge following in the east end largely due to their many appearances at the Navan Fair which takes place in Navan every August. Saturday’s activities wrapped up with a fireworks display.

The final day of the fair on Sunday featured the 1K and 5K Fun Runs and a dog show with some fancy canines.

Not far away from Blackburn Hamlet, Beacon Hill-Cyrville city councillor Tim Tierney was hosting his 10th annual Celebrate Summer Family Fun Day at the Earl Armstrong Arena with a free pancake breakfast, a hot dog lunch, cake, inflatable rides, face painting and a midway.

Saturday night featured a full line-up of entertainment on the main stage until 11 p.m.

Judging by the smiles on all the faces, this year’s twin family fun fairs were another huge success with the rest of the summer still ahead of us.

The next big family event on the local calendar is the O Canada Orléans event taking place on July 1 on Petrie Island.

The O Canada celebration is a contin-uation of a long history of Canada Day celebrations in the east end that date back to the original Fallingbrook Canada Day celebration that was started back in the early 90s.

That event was eventually replaced by the Greater Orléans Canada Day Celebration that took place on Petrie Island from 2005 to 2017 when it was moved to Navan for one year. After that, the event was taken over by East Ottawa Kiwanis Est which moved it back to Petrie Island.