The Luskville Falls park was the site of the Pontiac Country Fair on Saturday, a collaboration between the Municipality of Pontiac and the National Capital Commission (NCC), which operates Gatineau Park.

In addition to the nature displays and crafts for children, there were a multitude of vendors selling everything from paintings to preserves. Echo the clown was also on site wowing audiences with his card tricks and balloon animals. 

Stefani-Claire Bruneau, a nature interpretation coordinator with the NCC, explained that the event was an opportunity to interact with the park’s neighbours. 

“There’s a lot of different types of communities that surround the park and it’s our pleasure to be able to meet and greet all the people that know the park very well,” she said. 

The NCC, along with non-profit organization The Friends of Gatineau Park, had an interpretive display with taxidermied examples of various creatures that inhabit the region. Bruneau said that they were explaining the natural habits of the flora and fauna in the area during the fall months. 

“The wildlife that we see on the tables, that we have here, is really to talk about what strategies animals and plants use to survive this winter that’s coming,” she said. “We’re all here at a fall fair, we’re all getting ready for winter, but animals have to do the same thing. They’re either getting ready to leave, getting ready to stay, or getting ready to hibernate.”

The Municipality of Pontiac offered free shuttle rides to the park grounds from their offices up the street.