If you enjoy sitting down with a good book, the Fog Lit Literary Festival might be for you.
“We are so pleased to have brought this festival back at a time when literacy and literature matter more than ever,” said festival co-chair Lindsay Jacquard.
It’s the third year for the festival since it was relaunched in a post-COVID world.
Treasurer Neil Bonner said this new edition tries to bring in and represent writers of all different kinds of books.
“Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, children’s books,” he added.
“[We] just give them a platform to meet the reading public and read their books and spread the word about literature in Saint John.”
Bonner said attendance has been good for past festivals, with people looking forward to having the chance to hear from a professional author.
“We’ve had folks of all ages, like young people and families will come out,” he said. “Not all writers, but definitely all readers.”
He said the new version of the festival has seen steady growth in attendance numbers.
Starting this evening, the festival will hold events around Saint John with authors and publishers of all kinds.
Last weekend’s first-ever Ribfest in Fort Frances attracted more than 4,000 people over the three days.
The event features three food trucks from outside the community that specialize in ribs and participate in similar events across Canada.
Committee member Catrina Caira considers it a huge success.
“Everyone on the team definitely has ideas for how we can improve it for next year, but we are very, very happy with the reception and how the weekend went,” says Caira.
The event was held near the Sorting Gap Marina and included vendors, kids’ activities and entertainment, along with the food.
Ribs on the Rainy in Fort Frances, September 2026. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia News
“Vendors were very happy. They did well. The rib trucks were also quite happy,” notes Cairo.
There were some glitches.
For example, some other food trucks and the bouncy castles for the kids failed to show because of mechanical issues that prohibited them from getting to the site.
Otherwise, community response so far has been positive.
Caira says the organizing committee will gather soon to talk about the event and put the wheels in motion for next year’s event.
“We’re going to be having some meetings to go over what we learned from this year and make notes about how to improve it for next year,” says Caira.
“The next phase after that will be figuring out when we’re holding it next year and potentially starting to secure sponsorships.”
Another fall date is likely, but one that avoids potential conflicts with other events.
Ribs on the Rainy in Fort Frances, September 2026. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia News
The first-ever RibFest in Fort Frances takes place this weekend.
Ribs on the Rainy is a three-day event, taking place near the Sorting Gap Marina, starting on Friday.
Committee member Catrina Caira says three trucks specializing in ribs, as part of a national tour, will visit.
“There are basically two major travelling rib teams, Eastern and Western. These guys are from the Eastern set,” says Kaira.
“They travel across the country doing ribfests, selling ribs and competing. When you actually go to a ribfest, in front of the trucks, they usually have tables with all the awards that they’ve won.”
“There’s usually also some people that will have sauce samples you can taste before you decide which rib team you’re going to buy ribs from.”
All three of the trucks are Canadian-owned.
The team known as Texas Rangers Barbecue has been operating and competing at RibFest events for more than 20 years.
The other teams, Mississippi Smokehouse hails from London, Ontario, with Smoky Rebel Barbecue hails from the East Coast and is one of the newer teams to the RibFest circuit.
All three will go head-to-head for the top award to be determined by a team of judges that includes Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas.
“The Big Rib Fest competition is going to be at 3 p.m. on Sunday,” says Kaira.
There will be other activities coinciding with the ribs.
There will be live music each night, including a repeat performance from the contestants who performed in this summer’s Kids Quest and Quest for the Best.
Space Race out of Kenora and Sage McBride and Tim Newton from the band Shred Kelly will perform Friday night.
King of None takes the stage on Saturday night, with Jill Loryn, a singer-songwriter from Emo, performing Sunday evening.
“We’re going to have the stage. We’re going to have a bar. We’re going to have a kid zone with bouncy castles. We’re going to have vendors and booths and tables set up, so it should be a pretty fun event,” says Kaira.
The gates open this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
There is no admission charge, but there is a cost to taste the food offered by the food trucks.
A new event to celebrate Labour Day in Fort Frances.
The newly minted Fort Frances and District Labour Council is hosting a new Labour Day Picnic at Legion Park.
It will take place on Monday from 12 noon until 4 p.m.
Treasurer Cynthia Woodland says they are calling it the Labour Day Family Fun Day.
“We have a few bouncy castles. On the new basketball court, we’re going to have a few fun games, some field games. We’re going to have some art tables, face painting and a few other little surprises,” says Woodland.
Several unions also plan to set up booths to promote their activities and raise awareness about the local labour movement.
The event is a first for Fort Frances in several years.
Woodland notes former MPP Howard Hampton hosted pancake breakfasts on Labour Day when he represented the area, which were very popular.
The labour council was revived earlier this year after being dormant.
Woodland says the picnic is one of several events the council is planning.
“We’re co-sponsoring and helping the Fort Frances Times with their all-candidates event on October 1st,” notes Woodland.
“Hopefully, we’ll be planning a few events before Christmas, but we already have a children’s Christmas party planned for the unions.”
Woodland says if there is inclement weather, the Labour Day event will be moved to the Memorial Sports Centre.
Organizers with Burger Wars are confirming the popular food festival in Fort Frances will be ready to go ahead next year.
They have set June 4th, 2027, as the date.
They were forced to postpone for this year after a conflicting schedule with a new RibFest event that will take place in September.
Spokesperson Angela Halversen-Smith says alternate dates were considered, but those conflicted with other events the food trucks were previously committed to.
Halversen-Smith says moving it to next year gives them more time to plan to make it an even bigger and better event, showcased in the highly successful inaugural event last September.
Burger Wars in Fort Frances, September 12, 2025. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia Broadcasting
“We want it to be a social event. We’re going to, of course, have music and make that festival feeling,” says Halversen-Smith.
“So just trying to improve on what we learned from our first year and hopefully be able to make it bigger and better with more food, more community, more local businesses and bring people downtown.”
Halversen-Smith says they are looking at extending the event, which focused on the 200 block of Scott Street, into the 100 block if possible to add more market vendors and activities.
They also expect to add more food trucks.
They are also looking at the potential of having both blocks licensed so people can wander around with their beverages.
Last year’s event featured five food trucks and attracted an estimated 2,000-2,500 people.
“One of the things that we’ve heard many times is that I haven’t seen that many people downtown in 20 years, 30 years. It’s been many, many years since they had a very large event that brought that many people to the town square downtown area.”
The Zamburger was the inaugural winner of Burger Wars, September 12, 2026. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia News
The event also helped raise $10,000 for Fort Frances Community Chest, which helps residents with emergency medical needs.
Halversen-Smith says they have no ill feelings toward the second food festival coming or the town.
She feels there is plenty of room and support for both events.
“We certainly are excited about Ribfest, and we want everyone to support that festival as well,” says Halversen-Smith.
“We’ll just get these kinks figured out, and hopefully we’ll have two wonderful festivals for the town to participate in.”
Burger Wars in Fort Frances, September 12, 2026. Image: Johnathan Price/Acadia Broadcasting
The Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts resumes this week.
The vocal competitions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday at Knox United Church in Fort Frances.
Almost 80 performances are scheduled over the two days before adjudicator Judith Oatway, a vocal instructor from Manitoba.
Choirs will perform in the morning, including a grade 7 and 8 ensemble from St. John’s Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg.
Solo performers will take to the stage in the afternoon.
Drama and Speech Arts competitions in Anishinaabemowin, English and French took place over the last two weeks.
The Anishinaabemowin Speech Arts portion of the festival saw 7 performances, including an adult hand-drumming group, who were adjudicated by Roy Tom, an educator from Big Grassy First Nation.
As the division is non-competitive, no scores were given.
English and French performances last week were before adjudicators Robin Taylor Wright and Kim Anderson.
Wright also held a drama workshop that attracted 10 students from Fort Frances High School.
The festival organizers and the school’s Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program partnered on the workshop.
A workshop, entitled “Deconstructing the Message”, was put on by Mr. Robin Taylor Wright (red shirt), who served as an adjudicator in this year’s Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts. Ten students from Fort Frances High School took part. Photo supplied by Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts, April 6, 2026.
Another workshop will take place this Friday from 1:30 pm to 3 pm at Fort Frances High School, led by Oatway.
The free workshop is open to all performers in the festival’s vocal division, as well as cast members of the upcoming high school musical Hadestown and students enrolled in the high skills major program.
Pre-registration is appreciated by emailing rrdist.festival@gmail.com.
Here are the results from the first two weeks of the festival.
English Drama & Speech Arts Division Results – Tuesday, March 31
CLASS D308 English Drama, Choral Speaking, Grade 3 FIRST: Robert Moore School Gr 3 (Ms. A. Norris) (Honours)
CLASS D809 English Drama, Skit, Grade 8 FIRST: Cornerstone Christian School Gr 6-8 (Ms. Y. Veldhuisen) (Honours)
CLASS PSA9067 English Drama, Solo Spoken Poetry, Classical, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS PSA9134 English Drama, Solo Reading, Canadian Prose, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS D1117 English Drama, Quick Study, Grades 11 and 12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS D1106 English Drama, Sight Reading, Grades 11 and 12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (First Class Honours)
CLASS D308 English Drama, Choral Speaking, Grade 3 FIRST: Olivia Sivonen and Marlena Johnson
CLASS D401 English Drama, Serious Solo Poetry, Grade 4 FIRST: Rebecca Margison
CLASS D302 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 3 FIRST: Nash McMahon
CLASS D202 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 2 FIRST: Mackenzie Christian (Honours)
CLASS D402 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 4 FIRST: Bristol Christian (Honours) SECOND: Rebecca Margison
CLASS D916 English Drama, Shakespearean Soliloquy or Monologue, Grades 9 and 10 FIRST: James Gagne
CLASS PSA9093 English Drama, Dramatic Monologue, Own Choice, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
French Drama & Speech Arts Division Results – Thursday, April 2
CLASS F108 French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 1 and 2 FIRST: St. Mary School Grade 1 FI (A. Coyle) (First Class Honours) SECOND: St. Mary School Grade 1/2 FI (M. Brady) (Honours)
CLASS F308B French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 3 and 4 FIRST (Tie): Lex Norman, Collins Armstrong, et Signy Green (M. Brady) (First Class Honours) and Brielle Stus et Ember Van Troyen (M. Brady) (First Class Honours) SECOND: Noah Whalen, Porter Coyle, et Cohen Gushulak (M. Brady) (Honours)
CLASS F508B French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 5 and 6 FIRST: Rosina Woodgate, Elena Bottomley et London Lees (M. Gowdar) (First Class Honours) SECOND (Tie): Aria Brady et Naomi Gerber (M. Gowdar) (Honours) and Tilly Sexton et Alexis Reather (M. Gowdar) (Honours)
CLASS F511 French Reader’s Theatre, Grades 5 and 6, FIRST: Carys Simpson et Anneliese De Gagné (M. Gowdar) (First Class Honours)
CLASS F704 French Solo Prose Reading, Own Choice, Grades 7 and 8 FIRST: Teagan Sether (M. Wright)
CLASS F708 French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 7 and 8 FIRST: Sisily Morelli et Firdaus Toure (First Class Honours) SECOND: Aria St. Onge et Chase Bruyere (M. Wright)
CLASS PSA 9053 Solo Spoken Poetry, Multilingual, Own Choice, Grades 7-9 FIRST: Teagan Sether (M. Wright) (Honours)
Another edition of the Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts is approaching.
The annual event will begin on March 26th and end on April 24th.
Competitions for all ages will be held in the areas of piano, vocal, instrumental, drama and the speech arts.
President Marie Brady says anyone wanting to enter has until 12 noon on Monday, March 2nd, to register.
“People can enter using our online forms from our website,” says Brady.
“Also on the website, there are downloadable and fillable forms that they can complete, and they can email those to us, or they can put them in the post, as long as they’re postmarked by March 2nd, then we’ll accept the entries.”
The cost to enter is $10 for each solo entry, $15 for a duet and $20 for a group of three or more.
“Those fees haven’t changed since 2016. They’re really quite low. (Compared to) Thunder Bay and other areas that have festivals, we are the lowest for the entry fees.”
The festival has been showcasing local talent since the late 1930s.
It was halted during the outbreak of the Second World War and during the COVID pandemic.
The number of participants has wavered over the years.
Last year, there were over 275 performances involving almost 500 contestants.
Fort Frances Intermediate School band performs at the Townshend Theatre as part of the Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts, April 2024. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia Broadcasting
Brady says the festival offers participants many benefits.
“First and foremost, the students get a third-party adjudication,” says Brady.
“That’s important for their growth in the arts. What can I try for next year, or what could I do better? It’s your same teacher from week to week telling you to do this or that, but it’s a third party, you know, giving you some advice.”
Brady says it also helps them build confidence when performing in front of others.
“It’s important to be able to get up in front of people and be able to perform or speak or do whatever it is. It’s a type of communication skill.”
Brady says the festival also awards bursaries and scholarships to students furthering their education in the performing arts.
The festival has seen thousands of performers, young and old, perform their talents over its existence.
For some, it has been a springboard to furthering their talents.
“We have lots of students who have gone on to study theatre arts at university and perform there.”
This year’s syllabus can be found on the festival website. You can also find the registration forms. Click here.
Festival organizers are also welcome donations to help cover costs and volunteers to assist during the events.
Anyone interested in lending a hand can contact Maureen Hakkala at 274-1034.
