With the 40th Annual ‘Official May Show’, the festival season has officially begun again in Vankleek Hill.

…I actually don’t know for sure that it was the 40th. The local paper called it the 40th, and the lead singer of ’50 Proof’ said it was the 40th, but I have my doubts. I spoke with Samme Putzel (the woman in red in the above photo), the person who organizes most of the Festivals around here… including the May Show, but I forgot to ask her how many years this thing has been going on for.

I know there were a couple of years where “the people in charge” (the local BMA) tried to rebrand it as the “VKH Victoria Day Music & Arts Fest” or something equally as mind numbing (you can read about that here: [link]), but that didn’t take. Then there were a couple of years where we lived through a plague. And there were a couple of years where the only participant in the May Show was Susan Jephcott’s local gallery, The Three Owls Gallery… Susan was one of the original artists who started the May Show 30, 40, or 50-years ago.

…anyways. I believe it has been more than 40-years since someone came up with the idea of having an Arts Festival on Victoria Day Weekend in Vankleek Hill. I think that’s the point I’m trying to make.

So… I guess now’s the point where you click on a photo to get the carousel going. Or not. Totally up to you.