It didn’t take long for the parking area to be completely filled, but there was lots of room in Hallville’s beautiful new park to sit and socialize, have a bite to eat, listen to live music or just stroll around. Tinkess Photo

HALLVILLE – It took a week longer than expected, thanks to Mother Nature, but it paid off on Aug. 19 with the final Meet Me on Main Street event enjoying a perfect summer evening in the Brian Telford Community Park.

The onsite parking filled up quickly, but vehicles were able to find a place to park along nearby roads. Within the park there is so much open space that what had in the past felt quite crowded in the past on Kerr’s Ridge Road now had room to spread out. People with young children flocked to the play area and splash pad, while those without tended to stay near the parking area in front of the band.

Because of the rain-out the previous week there were a few changes, but most of the regulars were present. North Dundas Fire and the Township of North Dundas had tents set up and were offering information and answering questions. The Hallville United Church, a new addition, was handing out freezies. Kemptville Brewing, was offering various versions of their craft products and The Country Kitchen as always was very busy keeping the chicken wing and fries moving along.

If you didn’t feel like sitting and eating, there were pickleball demonstrations in the rink area, and if you were so inclined, you could even take a walk over to Loughlin’s for an ice cream cone, or maybe even one of their prize-winning butter tarts.

The whole idea behind the Meet Me on Main St. event was to give residents an inexpensive event close to home where they could just take a moment in the middle of the week to relax, where neighbours could catch up on what’s new, where young people could see friends they might not see as much over the summer, and a community could rediscover itself. Is it still working as well as it has in past years? That is something that organizers will look at over the fall and winter months when deciding where they go from here.

For now though, summer is just about over, the last event has taken place and fall beckons, leaving behind the memories of the summer of 2026, some of which happened on Main St.