More than 16,000 people filled Queen Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Friday and Saturday for the annual Peach Festival, marking one of the biggest turnouts the town's Chamber of Commerce has ever recorded.

Terry Dow, interim executive director of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, said the two-day event drew one of the largest crowds she has seen, according to Niagara Now.

Peach treats and a pie contest

The festival is a tradition for many Niagara residents, who come for peach-themed food and outdoor activities along Queen Street. This year's offerings ranged from peach cannolis and peach grilled cheese to peach pie, custard and salsa.

Peach cannolis, peach grilled cheese, peach pie, peach custard … Who knew there would be peach salsa? People get very creative with what they can make with the peaches, Dow told Niagara Now.

The annual pie contest drew 11 entries, judged by Chamber of Commerce chair David Leveque, original "Peach Princess" Odarka Kish, Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa. Kish won the festival's beauty pageant in 1972.

Charlie Maxwell took this year's top prize, with judges singling out her use of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Farms rebound after summer flooding

Despite concerns raised by this summer's flooding, fresh peaches remained one of the most popular items at the festival. Dow said there had been worries that farmers affected by agricultural damage wouldn't be able to supply the fruit or attend.

Just to be able to even get farmers out of their farms for two days, especially during the harvest, is a very difficult thing to do, she told Niagara Now. But we were so lucky. We had four local peach farmers who came to the festival this year.

Tracy Kent, manager at Neob Lavender, said the flood affected the lavender farm, but the business recovered in time for the festival's thousands of guests.

A lot of our customers are out-of-town people. There were quite a few buses that actually came into town for the Peach Festival specifically, Kent told Niagara Now. Once people get here and know kind of what the town's going through, helping support the local people is a big draw too.

A community tradition

For Ally and Ben Shoveller, who have attended nearly every year since moving to Niagara in 2020, the festival is a chance to celebrate local food. Ben said that living in Niagara opened his eyes to the scale of the region's agriculture.

The couple wore peach-themed outfits, including festival shirts sold at Cool As A Moose on Queen Street. Store manager Alyissa Weasner said the shirts sell quickly thanks to the community's enthusiasm.

I think it's such a staple because there are so many local farmers around us, and it's good to support them as well … it's good to have an event where we can have them out here, Weasner told Niagara Now.

Attendees also matched outfits with Percy the Peach, the festival mascot. By the end of the weekend, only empty fruit crates and the smell of peach remained on Queen Street.

We get to showcase our peaches and the agriculture that we have here in Niagara, Dow told Niagara Now. You could see by the crowds that were out on Friday and Saturday how much people just look forward to that event every year.