Crowds gather for Canadian Days in Little Canada, hoping it doesn't rain on their parade

LITTLE CANADA, Minn. -- It's a celebration in a "little" town that's anything but. As Canadian Days makes its annual return, organizers are hopeful weather won't be a deterrant.

The festival, hosted in Little Canada, is more of a reunion for the area according to organizers.

"It kind of becomes a time where there are little reunions of people who grew up in Little Canada to come back to this event," Committee President Jeanne Parsons said. "It's just coming together, working together, playing together, and having fun together."

The three-day event features a massive car show, pancake breakfast, 5K run, carnival, live music, and more.

Saturday morning, musicians from Thunder Bay made the international trip to perform.

"(It's a) busy three days," Parsons said. "But it's jam-packed with lots of fun for everyone."

Attendees Saturday morning jumped at the chance to reconnect with neighbors.

"I grew up coming here as a kid doing all the fair rides and just enjoying the park," Peter Paul, of St. Paul, said. "I come back, I see a lot of familiar faces. A lot of people I went to school with, people that my siblings went to school with."

While much of the Twin Cities metro hopes for an extended rainfall, Parsons and other organizers are hopeful it spares their festival, or instead comes overnight. She says that should rain still be a factor by noon Sunday, they'd have to consider altering or canceling the afternoon parade, something that's never happened.

"We never have control over the weather, so we try not to worry too much about that. We always keep our fingers crossed," she said.  "We've been watching the weather since last weekend to see."