One of southern Saskatchewan’s biggest summer highlights is this weekend, Saturday the 14th from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the village of Mortlach — it’s the 2025 Mortlach Saskatoon Berry Festival, famous for its pies and just as well-known for the music, vendors, parade, and a lot more.
“So, this is the 16th annual Saskatoon Berry Festival,” explained Kimberley Dreger, a community librarian and a member of the organizing committee.
“We have approximately 60 vendors this year. They range from clothing to jewelry, trading items, the library, Regional KidsFirst, we have food vendors including treats and hot food. Out local businesses are also open.
“The DETOURcountry band will be here again, they were also here last year and we asked them to come back because they did a very good job. We have beer gardens, the (Mortlach) Museum is open for the day, we have a dunk tank this year, run by the Grade 5/6 class at the school.”
The Village of Mortlach is just 30 minutes west of Moose Jaw, and organizations like the Moose Jaw Humane Society, Fifth Avenue Collection, Hunger in Moose Jaw, the Western Development Museum, and Moose Jaw Early Learning will be representing the city at the festival.
The day starts with a pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. There are wagon rides, a bean bag toss, Scottish dancers and music at 1:30 p.m., a basketball game, and an ongoing trade show. The parade is at 11 a.m.
The festival’s iconic pie sales start at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day — but pre-ordering ASAP is highly recommended.
“We do pre-orders online,” Dreger explained. “You can actually pre-order a pie ahead of time, pay for it, and then when you come that day, it will be set aside for you.
“Obviously, it depends on the year, but we do recommend pre-ordering to guarantee you get a pie, because once they’re sold out, well, that’s all we have!”
The festival is a volunteer effort and depends on the support of businesses, sponsors, and surrounding communities. The village had a population of 274 at the 2021 census, which means its population on Saturday will swell by a factor of four or five. It can get busy with street parking, so visitors are encouraged to carpool where possible.
Check out the vendor list and schedule, and pre-order your pie at mortlach.ca/festival.
“For me, personally, I like parades, so I like seeing the different things people enter, or what new businesses come up with, how they decorate things, I really enjoy that part,” Dreger added. “I have to say I really like the music, as well.
“It’s nice to have that music playing throughout the day and to see people enjoying it, sitting and watching — people even get up and dance, and it’s just really nice to see.”