The Burk’s Falls and District Historical Society is accepting applications for a HERITAGE CO-ORDINATOR, SUMMER STUDENT POSITION from June 10 to August 30, 2024. Please submit your resume and cover letter in person or electronically by Friday, May 17, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. to: Township of Armour Att: John Theriault Clerk-Treasurer/Administrator P.O. Box 533, 56 Ontario Street Burk’s Falls, ON P0A 1C0 Email: clerk@armourtownship.ca Please identify “Heritage Coordinator” on the envelope or in the email subject line 

March 19, 2024 - VENDORS MARKET REGISTRATION FOR HERITAGE FESTIVAL IS CLOSED - WE ARE FULL. This year's vendors market has doubled in size with over 100 booked vendors!! What a response!! Thank you for all of the overwhelming support! The Vendors Market is a vibrant and lively attraction that brings together an eclectic mix of talented vendors, offering a wide range of goods and services for visitors to enjoy. From handmade crafts and unique fashion items, to fresh gourmet coffee and delectable baked goods, there is something for everyone at this market.  Save the Date, we will meet you on the Burk's Falls Fairgrounds on July 13, 2024! Note that the fairgrounds will also host a Car Show, Southeast Almaguin Firefighter Challenge, live bands, Tractor Display and loads more of attractions! FREE ADMISSION!

We are starting to plan Heritage Festival & the Firefighter Challenge for 2024 and will be hosting our second Car Show and third Vendors Market. Jim Percy will be our Car Show Co-ordinator on event day and we are thrilled to have him take the lead on this attraction. The annual event is growing with each passing year. We will continue extending the free car show registration. The event will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2024 from 11 am to 4 pm. We have extended the event to run an extra hour in response to last year’s feedback. Trophies and awards will be handed out at the event. The four trophies will include: Crowd Favourite Trophy (vote by ballot), Heritage Festival Trophy (your name and vehicle will be detailed on a plaque on the master trophy with the Historical Society), Fire Chiefs Choice Trophy and the Mayors Choice Trophy. Awards will be numerous and include all types of vehicles and all ages of vehicles. If you have a set of wheels that you want to put on display at the event, email Charlene Watt at deputyclerk@armourtownship.ca to register. Heritage Festival will be held in the Village of Burk's Falls at the Armour, Ryerson, Burk's Falls Agricultural Society's Fairgrounds, 220 Centre Street. This is the same location at the Burk's Falls Arena. Please plan for the weather, the event will be held, rain or shine. You will need to bring your own chair(s). We anticipate a much larger crowd this year and hope to have an in-town shuttle service available to the public! We look forward to hosting the annual event on the Fairgrounds and are thankful to have received permission from the Agricultural Society and the Village of Burk’s Falls to use their land. Please let us know if you are interested in registering and we will add you to the list. Please provide the year, make and model of the vehicle(s). The first 200 pre-registered vehicle owners will receive a car show dash plaque! (one per person)

We have a new addition to Heritage Festival 2024. Welcome Olivia! https://www.facebook.com/facepaintingmanitoulinisland The heARTist will be providing FREE face painting at the event! Olivia has an amazing talent and is a great addition to Heritage Festival! Olivia will be sharing the Burk's Falls Fairgrounds with the Southeast Almaguin Fire Department Firefighter Challenge, a vendors market, a car show, and so, so much more. FREE ADMISSION! 

The fifth annual Southeast Almaguin Firefighter Challenge will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at the Burk’s Falls Fairgrounds (220 Centre Street) and in conjunction with the Heritage Festival on the same grounds. The competition will be held a high noon. Firefighters always draw and crowd and we eagerly welcome back our five competing fire stations: Burk's Falls, Kearney, Magnetawan, McMurrich/Monteith and Perry. This challenge is a competition based on fire fighting tasks that are commonly performed in emergency situations. We’ve colour coded the firefighters with bandanas: Burk’s Falls – Yellow Kearney – Blue Magnetawan – Red McMurrich/Monteith – Green Perry - Orange There will be a Fire Truck Sprinkler Run on the fairgrounds. Join the firefighters and cool off from the summer heat under the biggest water sprinkler in town! Splish, splash, you’ll have a blast! We will be showcasing, a custom master trophy for the Firefighter Challenge that was created by Asylum Hotrods. The winning department's name will be engraved on the master trophy and kept on display at the Watt Century Farmhouse Heritage Centre. Kearney Fire Station won the challenge in 2023…who will claim bragging rights in 2024?!! This year’s firefighter coin is very special and will recognize our retiring Fire Chief from the Burk’s Falls Station, Dave McNay. Chief McNay has 34 years of dedicated service and the participating firefighters will receive a coin that was designed by his grandchildren, Lola and Sofia. Their artistic creativity is sure to warm your heart. A firefighter recruitment booth will be on-site. If you’re interested in joining our local volunteer fire department, this is the place you want to be. Heritage Festival runs from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and includes a vendors’ market, car show, tractor display & many more attractions. The event is free for the public to attend. Free face painting, reptile camp, inflatables, and balloon art. Be sure to mark your calendar and save the date! Stay updated on the event by following us on Facebook. For more information, please contact Charlene Watt at deputyclerk@armourtownship.ca

We have NEW additions for you at Heritage Festival this year and we are excited to share the updates with you as we continue to plan the event. Save the date, the Burk’s Falls Fairgrounds is the place to be on July 13, 2024: - Armstrong’s Thunder Ridge Farm with their horse drawn wagon rides! - Heartist Face Painting! - More live entertainment! Let’s welcome Tina Turley and New Boots! - More food trucks! - More inflatables! - More vendors than ever before! - Tractor Display! Register your tractor! - Wilson Transportation – Free in-town shuttle service! This year’s Firefighter Challenge will host new additions as well. We’re adding bleachers and shade tents too! The Car Show is gearing up to be another successful day. If you’re interested in donating a prize or registering your vehicle for the Car Show, please contact Charlene Watt at deputyclerk@armourtownship.ca We welcome back: - Allways Antique Photo - Asylum Hotrods Display - The Christina Hutt Band - Dunk A Politician - Ken the Balloon Dude - Reptile Adventure Camp - Southeast Almaguin Firefighters - Sprinkler Run - And all of our registered returning car show and vendor registrations too. We truly appreciate the continued participation! Stay up to date by checking the Burk’s Falls & District Historical Society’s website and Facebook page!

We are adding a new attraction to this year's Heritage Festival! We all know how hard farmers and contractors work so here is a chance to have a little bit of fun with them! Register your tractor by contacting Jim Percy (705-879-5642) or Phil Cumming (705-783-4420) to showcase your tractor at Heritage Festival on a field display for the crowd to enjoy. If you're interested in exhibiting your tractor (old or new), we welcome you to show off your pride and joy. Tractors must pre-register before July 13, 2024.

Heritage Festival 2024 planning is underway and we have extended the event to run from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. this year! So what's new this year so far? We will be offering a free in-town shuttle service within Burk's Falls (from specific locations) for pick ups and drop offs to and from the fairgrounds. Many new attractions are also being planned. We are investigating a tractor display so if you have an old tractor that you would like to bring out to the event, please contact Jim Percy at 705-879-5642. We will host a vendors market again, which is quickly booking up the fairgrounds. As of the end of January, we have over 60 vendors registered. We have more food vendors also confirming their attendance! The Southeast Almaguin Firefighters Challenge planning is underway by our Fire Chiefs and the Regional Training Officer. We can't wait to see our brave firefighters converge on the field to showcase their skills and stamina! This year's firefighter coin will recognize the Burk's Falls & District Fire Department's Fire Chief, Dave McNay, for his retirement and years of service. Kearney Fire won the challenge last year...who is going to win the 2024 challenge?? Our second Car Show is open for registrations. Jim Percy will be co-ordinating the Car Show again this year and we are very grateful to receive his dedication. Jim has an amazing energy towards all sorts of vehicles and we welcome everyone to participate. The four big trophies are up for grabs this year again: Crowd Favourite (ballot voting on event day), Heritage Festival (chosen by the Historical Society's members), Mayors Choice (chosen by the Mayors of Armour, Burk's Falls & Ryerson) and Fire Chiefs Choice (chosen by our five Fire Chiefs from Burk's Falls, Kearney, Magnetawan, McMurrich/Monteith & Perry). We will also have numerous awards with prizes to be chosen from local business donations. Please contact Charlene Watt to register for the vendors market or car show via email at deputyclerk@armourtownship.ca Keep up to date on event status and planning by giving The Burk's Falls & District Historical Society a "like" on Facebook .

Calling all Vendors, Crafters, Non-profit Organizations and Food Vendors!!!! We are starting to plan Heritage Festival 2024! The annual event is growing with each passing year. We will continue extending the free vendor registration. The event will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2024 from 11 am to 4 pm. We have extended the event to run an extra hour in response to last year’s feedback. Heritage Festival will be held in the Village of Burk's Falls at the Armour, Ryerson, Burk's Falls Agricultural Society's Fairgrounds, 220 Centre Street. Please plan for the weather, the event will be held, rain or shine. You will need to bring your own canopy tent, table(s) and chair(s). Vendors will be permitted to keep their vehicle at their site. We look forward to hosting the annual event on the Fairgrounds and are thankful to have received permission from the Agricultural Society and the Village of Burk’s Falls to use their land. Please email deputyclerk@armourtownship.ca to register as a vendor for 2024.  Please spread the word of our vendors market, the more, the merrier!