Pine Falls 4P Festival

Festival Location: Pine Falls, Canada

Festival Type(s): Community Festivals, Family Festivals, Fairs

This year Pine Falls and it's neighbouring communities are once again gathering for the September long weekend's annual 4P Festival. While not many outside of the area may know what a 4P Festival is (or why we would call it 4P - it's a pretty obscure reference) I can assure you that it couldn't be more meaningful to those who celebrate it each year. The infamous 4 P's of which I am speaking represent the four cornerstone industries that surround the town - paper (for the town's historic paper mill), pickeral (for the delicious pickeral supplied to the area by the Winnipeg River), power (for the awe-inspiring, one and only dam which utilizes the Winnipeg River system) and pea (indicative of the world's finest pea farms located in nearby french village of St. Georges). The 4P celebrates culture and industry in a four day long celebration in which those who attend and participate eagerly anticipate all year.

The Festival kicks off on Friday night which a jam packed calendar of activities, including a fish fry and a jamboree; a musical showcase and open-mike featuring local talent. Saturday sees the opening of the Annual Market Square, where vendors from Pine Falls and beyond come offering everything from jewellery to top-notch crafts. Kids can spend all day romping in the kidzone, while adults can find refreshment in the always lively beer gardens. Dam tours are available all day, which allow vistors an up-close glimpse of the powerful dam in action. A full-scale parade is a part of the Sunday festivities, which include a baseball tournament, music and fireworks. Festivites continue through Monday morning and into the evening, when everyone is finally exhausted from 4 full days of entertainment and activity.

Pine Falls is a small but diverse community, and the job of the 4P Festival is to remind everyone both where they came from and where they are bound. It is both a celebration of identity and an integral part of the process of identity creation. It allows for a time and space to both maintain and announce that identity, as loudly and with as much pomp and circumstance as possible.