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A small town in Saskatchewan is about to see its population jump from the hundreds to thousands this weekend.
St. Walburg, on Highway 26 in west-central Saskatchewan, is holding its 36th annual Wild Blueberry Festival on Saturday.
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“Our population’s around 700, and we grow to about 5,000 to 7,000 in just one day,” said Bobby Domes, treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce and chair of the festival.
The event is held every year on the fourth Saturday in August and brings together a wide variety of events, including vendors selling homemade food, crafts and art, as well as events such as the Show & Shine vehicle display, live entertainment and games.
Domes said the event is steeped in history.
“So, 36 years ago, the Saskatchewan Government and RMs and municipalities created this blueberry event that happened. Many towns hosted it, and this is the only one that survived,” said Domes.
The event is an opportunity for community members, businesses and many others to gather.
A band plays at a previous St. Walburg Wild Blueberry Festival. Live music will also be featured at the 2026 event. (St. Walburg Wild Blueberry Festival website)
“We have 156 regular vendors on Main Street. We have eight trailers that are coming in (where) people have laid out business or some sort of crafting event or something that they have a trailer for, and we have 11 food trucks this year,” he said.
“We have vendors coming from Medicine Hat, Calgary, South Regina, east, west, everywhere. We’ve had people from Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C., Manitoba … Finland, Africa, England, all over the globe, basically,” he said.
“The hotels, the restaurants, the gas stations see a definite influx of people in town starting usually Thursday. We notice strangers walking around down the streets and stuff, and campers arriving and then throughout the weekend, it’s very busy for the local stores and businesses,” said Domes.
He said it’s huge for the community and a great time for people to spend time together.
“Everyone’s happy and walking around, doing some shopping, visiting. A lot of people use this as their family get-together once a summer, where they all meet central from people who have moved away over the years and come back to see family and friends,” he said.
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