At the annual festival in Olcott, New York, a parade of pirates marches to the shore of Lake Ontario and engages the town's boaters in a wild water war. Water-filled balloons are hurled from shore and back, with the losing team facing the seafaring fate of walking the plank. But the pirates don't stop there. The festival also features volleyball, volleyball and more volleyball, as teams from throughout New York and eastern Canada set and spike along the sand. Other highlights include an antique car show, highland games, a psychic fair and a spectacular fireworks display.
Nothing says summer like a ripe, red strawberry.
And in Orleans County, nothing heralds the season of sun like the Albion Strawberry Festival. In celebration of summer's favorite fruit, Albion hosts a two-day event that features arts and crafts, an antique car show, carriage rides and a parade. In addition to traditional fair fare, like hamburgers, hot dogs and funnel cakes, event organizers have lined up a delectable array of berry desserts. Continuous free entertainment, plus 5K and 8K races round out the festival schedule, with all events taking place in and around the historic courthouse square. Since 1892, when the first lilacs were planted at the corner of Highland Park by horticulturist John Dunbar, visitors from around the world have traveled to Monroe County to savor the delicate fragrances and visual splendor of one of the world's first municipal arboretums.