2026 Festival on the Bend: another great success
On Saturday, Aug. 15, Nackawic’s streets were filled with glitz and glam as the 2026 Festival on the Bend went Hollywood.
The weather was perfect, and the annual street parade did not disappoint the huge crowds lining the route.
Parade winners included: 1st Place – Pink Ladies (Grease) – Stompin with Stacey, 2nd Place – Dumfries Hillbillies (Beverly Hill Billies), 3rd Place – Gilligan’s Island (Myrtle Beach) and Honourable Mention – Meet the Cast (Nackawic Public School Library).
During the week-long event, there was something for everyone.
The festival started on Sunday, Aug. 9, with a crib tournament at the Curling Club and live pro wrestling at the arena that evening.
Monday brought a craft night at the Lions Club, with bingo on Tuesday night.
The Little Miss Nackawic-Millville Pageant was held on Wednesday evening, and the Jimmy Flynn Comedy Show was held at the arena.
A variety of vendors were in the arena on Friday evening and Saturday.
A large crowd took in the Miss Nackawic-Millville Pageant on Friday evening.
Saturday morning started with a huge yard sale at the Kirk United Church, a street parade, a variety of musical entertainment in the arena throughout the afternoon, food trucks, bouncy castles, a rock climbing wall, which was new this year, paintball, a washer toss tournament, and the LLamazing Llamas, which are always popular.
The Lions Club held a ham-and-bean supper followed by a country jamboree. At the axe, there was more entertainment: a free corn boil sponsored by Ryan’s Pharmacy and an amazing fireworks show to end the evening.
Kim and Gracie Myshrall have organized the Little Miss Nackawic-Millville pageant for the past 5 years. The pageant has three categories, with about 18 to 25 girls entering each year.
“Our goal is to show kindness while supporting growth in confidence and making new friends,” said Kim.
Miss Nackawic-Millville 2026 was crowned on Friday evening, with 16-year-old Peyton Ingraham winning the honour as well as Miss Autobiography. Ingraham is a student at Nackawic High School and the daughter of Tammy Cronkhite and Nick Ingraham.
First Princess was Makayla Sharp, who also won Best Poster and tied for Miss Congeniality with Hailey King. King also won the Joyce Gordon Award.
Ally Lewis won 2nd Princess and a new award this year, the Faye MacFarlane Award.
Pageant volunteer Kathy Reid won another award, the Jennifer Connor Heart Behind the Crown Award. Reid has helped out behind the scenes with the pageant for many years.
Karen Gillespie, organizer of the Miss Nackawic-Millville pageant, said this year the girls were probably the quietest ever, but she said by Friday they blossomed.
“It was a year I had no idea who would win,” she said.
Gillespie said all the young ladies are exceptional.
Gillespie pointed out the two new awards this year and said they are very near and dear to her.
The Faye MacFarlane Award was designed to inspire young girls to build confidence, find their voices and take pride in their community.
MacFarlane passed away in March 2026. She started the Miss Nackawic Pageant in 1970 and was a long-time organizer of the event.
Jennifer Connor, another long-time pageant organizer, passed away last fall.
The new award in her honour is the Jennifer Connor Heart Behind the Crown Award. The award is given to the person who goes above and beyond as a volunteer and is a trusted person for the girls to turn to, someone who is there for them and helps their confidence shine through.
Overall, Gillespie said it was an extremely fun six weeks, and the ladies always surprise her.
“My goal is to have the ladies leave more confident in themselves, feeling pride in themselves and hopefully making friends they probably wouldn’t have thought possible. We are like a big family including past and present contestants,” she said. “They feel like my own family.”
Festival on the Bend organizer Donna Gagnon said the week went off flawlessly.
“Coordinators of both pageants did a beautiful job organizing their events,” said Gagnon. She went on to thank them for a job well done.
“I’ve had so many compliments on the events that took place that I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“I want to say thank you to everyone who participated on Saturday to make this an unforgettable day ending with an amazing fireworks display by Sky Designs,” Gagnon said. She said people are raving about the fireworks.
“I love hearing that so many people who live elsewhere plan their vacations to be here to celebrate with us each year. I love this community and I am so proud of my committee for being here with me through it all.”
The 2026 Parade Marshals were the well-known Nackawic couple Judy and Wendell Flewelling. (Photo by Donna Gagnon)
