Adhering to the school of thought that small towns are to be celebrated, the Pickford community is hosting its 31st annual Hay Days festival, with events planned from Wednesday, August 4, to Sunday, August 8.

The theme this year is “school days,” a motif chosen to coincide with the Pickford Area Historical Society's recently released publication on country schools.

Traditional events include parades, street dances, horse pulls, and hay bale races. Newer events such as ultimate flying disc and music video game competitions will also be featured.

The festivities start Wednesday at Munoscong Golf Club with a golf scramble tournament at 1 p.m., sponsored by the historical society, and a turkey shoot from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at M-129 near 23- mile road.

By Thursday, games will be in full-swing with 8-ball, flying disc, and guitar video game tournaments throughout the day. Fans can take in a softball game between the Pickford and Kinross fire departments at the ball field at 7:30 p.m. Also at 7:30 will be a teen dance, held at the school.

Friday is devoted to pageantry with the kids' parade starting at 7 p.m., and the coronation ceremony for the new Hay Days Queen half an hour later. The evening will conclude with a street dance from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Saturday begins at 7 a.m. with a lumberjack breakfast at the Pickford Township Hall, following by 10k and 5k runs and a 2k fun run/walk at 9 a.m. on Main Street. There will be a petting zoo east of the dental office, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The main parade is at 11 a.m., beginning at the township park, venturing down Main Street all the way to M-129 and turning down School Street to Pleasant Street and back to the park. The parade will feature two marching bands, said event organizer Richard Morrison. Seeing the Sault Pipe Band and the Royal Canadian Legion Band, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, marching down Main Street in the middle of summer will be a great experience, he added.

“This is a unique event and definitely different than festivals in other locations,” Dr. Morrison said. “It is more catered to people with local roots. There are class and family reunions galore. A lot of grown-up kids want to come back to where they grew up.”

After the parade, there will be another round of games, with a firemen's competition, softball tournament, three-on-three basketball, beach volleyball, horse and lawn tractor pulls, and a horseshoe tournament. Event participants will have two chances to catch live music: the first event is Pickin' N' Grinnin' with local musicians from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the town hall. The Sundown Lounge will have four hours of live music from the Break-A-Way Band, from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Hay Days events conclude Sunday with the final games of the softball tournament and a chicken barbecue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.