My colleague and friend Deb Van Brenk has written an advancer on this weekend’s Poplar Hill Picnic.

You can check it out by clicking here.

I hope to see you all there on the weekend!

Growing up in Poplar Hill, it was the one day of the summer I always looked forward to. The Poplar Hill Picnic was not to be missed.

In my memories, it was a huge affair. Thousands of people parked their cars around the grassy edges of the park at the centre of our town; they came from as far away as London to be a part of the fun.

I’m not sure I can explain exactly why my younger self got so excited. I guess just because it was a sunny day devoted entirely to fun, and I would see all my friends from Valleyview. There was nothing else like it.

If you’ve ever been to a small-town picnic, you already know how the day unfolds.

The races were held soon after the picnic kicked off at noon. There were sprints, potato-sack races, even a three-legged race (two kids tie their right and left legs together; hilarity ensues as they stumble and bump toward the finish line).

There was an afternoon baseball game, with Valleyview students facing off against a team from Parkview in Komoka.

As the afternoon shadows lengthened, we gathered in the grandstand for the main event: the pillow fights. Two teens or young men would climb up on a beam, under which were positioned old mattresses. Facing each other, they would bash away until the feathers flew, then one would fall off — and we would cheer with delight.

One of my favourite events was not on the schedule — the day-long water fight. My friends and I would arm ourselves with squirt guns and bulging balloons, then laugh as we surprised each other, getting a face full of spray in the process. But if it was a hot day — and in my memories, it was always so muggy — the soaking would help to keep us cool.

We’d grab a treat from the concession stand, maybe a Mr. Freeze or a handful of Swedish berries. Syrupy Coke never tasted better.

It all sounds pretty corny, doesn’t it? That’s life in the 1970s in an idyllic Ontario small town for you.

The Poplar Hill Picnic wasn’t the same kind of fun as watching a TV show like Dr. Who. It wasn’t fun like reading an X-Men comic book. It wasn’t even the same fun as going to the movies in London and seeing, say, Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica.

I guess it was more of a communal-type of thrill.

I remember things like: A couple of my classmates made me laugh so hard one time, the milk I was drinking from a paper cup came out my nostrils.

And here’s the best part: It turns out some of my warm memories actually stand up. I talked to the organizers last summer for a story I did for The Free Press, and I was heartened to hear them recall that as many as 3,000 people did show up back in the day. I didn’t imagine it.

These days, maybe 350 people show up in any given year. But I’m just glad the organizers haven’t given up. The local Lions Club is now a big supporter of the picnic, and there’s a parade to start it all off.

It goes without saying that no insurer would touch a game as barbaric as the pillow fights today. But I’ll still be there. I love the kiddie lip-sync contest that has replaced them in the grandstand.

If you’re interested in attending, it’s going to be a really big deal this year, which marks the picnic’s 125th anniversary. Will it still be going in another 125 years? I imagine it will; I like to believe small-town picnics will be around as long as North America has small towns.

Which is sort of comforting. For about a decade, I moved away from Southwestern Ontario to work in Toronto. But come a Saturday in June, it comforted me to know people were still gathering in that little park far away.

I guess the bottom line is that it’s a living link — with the town’s past, as well as my own.

The Poplar Hill Picnic is June 8. Admission is free. All are welcome to attend.