There will be lots of music and activities to keep adults and childeren entertained as they scout out the many vendors participating in the South Cariboo Garlic Festival in Lac La Hache this weekend.
Saturday the entertainment lineup features Jason Ruscheinsky at 11 a.m.; Eloise Hobi at 12:30 a.m.; Steve Elliott’s Elvis show at 1:30 p.m. and Thorne and Filgate at 3 p.m.
Sunday the activities begin with a church service at 9:30 a.m.; gospel music with Elvis at 10:30 a.m.; John Goodwin at 12 p.m. and Joal Kamps at 2 p.m.
Born and raised in the Cariboo Ruscheinsky has been developing as an entertainer playing many shows around the Cariboo region and this year was the Rising Star winner at the 2016 Kamloops Cowboy Festival.
Peter Thorne and Tammylynn Filgate are seasoned musicians who have been singing and playing for audiences most of their lives.
Filgate says the sound of country music has always caught her ear and she has been inspired by artists such as Patsy Cline and LeAnn Rimes.
Thorne has called 100 Mile House home for most of his life, except for the years in his 20s and 30s when he was travelling with bands. He eventually settled into cabinet making and in his spare time he makes hand-crafted cigar box guitars.
John Robert Goodwin is a Quensel-based singer, songwriter and recording artist who has been actively involved in country music for 35 years and has won various awards over the years including the BC Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year Awards.
Joal Kamps is billed as a singin’ songwritin’, storytellin’ sensation who in just five years of performing has released award-winning albums and toured through North America and Europe as a self-taught independent artist in the Rocky Mountain folk-pop tradition.
Eloise Bloise is the youngest entertainer on the bill. At just nine years old Eloise lives in Lac La Hache.
She started singing before she started talking and gave her first performance for friends, parents and family at her sixth birthday party.
She has won numerous festival awards and will be performing independently and in a duet with Elvis tribute artist Steve Elliott who is back for the festival by popular demand.
There will also be lots of other entertainment for children attending the festival.
The Marie Sharpe Elementary School parent advisory council is hosting the Kids Zone this year. It will feature hoop dancing on Saturday and a bouncy castle on Sunday plus kids activities including a sandbox, kiddie pool, bubbles, lego and cartoon colouring, popcorn and cotton candy.
One of the fun events this year will be garlic eating contests for children and adults starting Saturday at noon sharp in the covered picnic area.
The 17th annual South Cariboo Garlic Festival takes place on the Garlic Festival Grounds in Lac La Hache, Saturday, Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The festival is centred around the sale of fresh garlic and garlic food products from garlic sausage to garlic sauces.
In addition to a dozen garlic growers from around the region the festival includes vendors selling vegetables, eggs, baking, dried soup mixes and all sorts of arts, crafts, clothing, jewellery, pottery, botanicals, and food.
Breakfasts are available both days and there is a church service and music on Sunday morning.
The adult admission of $5 on Saturday also covers entry for Sunday.
Children under age 12 don’t pay at all for this family event.