I’m on the road this weekend, giving a few American guests a taste of a Bruce County Thanksgiving.  Naturally, they asked why we were killing the turkey when it wasn’t even November.  Driving south along the Blue Highway, Lake Huron on our right, I explained.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October.  Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest.  The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact of our more northern existence.

And, I added, the history of Thanksgiving in Canada dates back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient.  In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony in what is today Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving the long journey.  It is considered to be the first Canadian Thanksgiving.

Our destinations this weekend find us hop scotching our way up and down the County with a first stop at Point Clark. Bruce County’s only National Historic Site and the location of one of six “Imperial” limestone lighthouses built 150 years ago, Point Clark is home to home-cooking.  For 31 years, the Kountry Kitchen Bazaar has been selling their famous meat pies.  The hours of sale are 11:00 to 1:00 on Saturday – so be warned, their will be a friendly lineup.

Fall fair season is almost over but there is still time for the Chesley Fall Fair.  This long-running agricultural fair opens Friday night at the Chesley Community Centre at 5:00 p.m.  And there are two full days of exhibits, fun and food.  Prizes for first place baking and preserves will be accompanied by music from the Black Family – two tasty Bruce County treats.

Since the weekend weather should be spectacular, I’m taking my friends to Sauble Beach for the treat of a lifetime – a Lake Huron sunset!  Thanksgiving has always seemed to mean Sauble for me, especially with the Sauble Beach Arts and Crafts and Beach Sale on all weekend.  A hint.  The streets of the Beach are a great place to find unique gifts to stuff away for Christmas.  There will be live entertainment and a chance to drink a Neustadt while watching the waves roll in.

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Posted on: 07/10/10