Cochrane was hopping this weekend with Summerfest 2017 at the Tim Horton Centre and along the waterfront of Commando Lake.
And like the Summerfest 2017 slogan said, everyone was invited to join in and “Live Like a Northerner!”
You could even go and visit the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat...now that is really living like a northerner.
Things got underway on Thursday August 10th with a soapbox derby and continued into Friday with a street dance, an outdoor movie screening, bike rodeo and a BBQ at Allan’s Home Hardware.
For the kids, the could try their hand at rock climbing, super fun slides, and adventure equipment.
For the sports minded, there was a slow-pitch tournament, a horseshoe competition and even a kettlebell weight wait event sponsored by the CIBC.
On Saturday, the fun continued with a Smoke on the Water BBQ competition, three on three volleyball, horseshoes, live bands and fireworks.
The BBQ challenge was a real competition and not a commercial rib fest.
“This is the real deal and not a commercial retail opportunity,” touted the write-up on the Summerfest 2017 website.
Amateur teams from all over Ontario and Canada competed for prizes to see who was the best in cooking traditional Southern BBQ.
Smoke on the Water BBQ Championship was sanctioned by the Canadian Southern BBQ Association and it promoted "Grilling Smoking and BBQ Across Canada"
Detour Gold was there too, raising funds for local charities with their dunk tank where people got a chance to show their throwing accuracy by hitting a red marker that caused Lorenzo Melchiorre, Detour’s Manager of Business Services.
The live bands included Estelle Deschamps and the Roadriders, Rocktread, Frate Trane, Rosedale, and Off the Cuff.
Sunday the last day of the event featured the Church Without Walls, a Mud Bog event, a Mad Dash for Cash and a community water fight.
And of course, though not officially part of Summerfest 2017, Ganuk, Henry and Inukchuk the polar bears were also putting on a show at the Cochrane Polar Bear Rescue Centre just down the road from the Tim Horton Centre
Here are some of the highlights from Saturday August 14.