Summer's end celebration returns to Jocelyn Township

According to the calendar, summer officially ended last weekend and was celebrated with a return to the Mountainview Centennial grounds for the Jocelyn Township Fall Fair and Harvest Festival.

The long-running annual event returned to the St. Joseph Island community after a three-year hiatus due to pandemic health measures. 

As in past years, as the festival wrapped up, farm tractors and vintage machinery of all ages, sizes, makes and models made the drive around the Mountainview grounds where St. Joseph Island residents, seasonal residents and visitors of all ages gathered for the parade.

The event was organized and presented by the Jocelyn Township recreation committee and made possible by the enthusiastic participation of many, highly-motivated volunteers who, together, made hundreds of pies and deer tails, gallons of sloppy Joe filling and barbecued countless numbers of hot dogs before and during the festival on Saturday.

But the real star of the festival was the delicious local corn on the cob cooked to perfection in a giant, steaming cauldron over an open fire.

The festival also featured live music, farm animals in a petting zoo, face painting, various artisans, historical displays and visits through the Gapp farmhouse or the Jim Snider drive shed, children’s games and the ever-popular chicken poop bingo fundraiser.