St. Mary’s Church - current home of the Indian River Festival. Conceived of and planned by hand and paper. Harvested and constructed by hand and tool. I can’t walk inside these structures without reflecting on their back story - the amount of work tied to each beam, each post, each plank, each moulding and each carving. Fir, pine, spruce, maple and birch are represented, all sourced from the immediate area. Heart and soul poured into every square inch - an inherent warmth as the end result. To build a structure such as this is one thing. To maintain it? Something else. Much like a relationship. Much like these two. Much like the family and friends who support them and came to fill this space with their laughter, joy and a warmth of their own.

Locate Nova Scotia’s Fundy Shore on a satellite photo. Then shift your focus slightly to the south until you find the community of Annapolis Royal. Now follow the Annapolis River to the east as it winds through Moschelle, Granville Centre, Roundhill, Belleisle, Upper Granville, Bridgetown, Paradise . . .

With each bend, with each meander there appears an increase in the amount of farm land along either bank. The patchwork of fields, orchards and pastures intensifies as you reach Kentville, New Minas, Wolfville and the roots of the Cornwallis River before reaching a peak as you reach the shores of the Minas Basin. Every shade of green imaginable, with a dash of red soil for character. Nestled within that crescendo, alongside the old highway is Lightfoot & Wolfville. Another shade of green from the air, but so much more once you’re on the ground.