St. Therese College of Faith and Mission knows when it's on to a good thing, and when it comes to Bruno Cherry Sunday (formerly known as the Bruno Cherry Festival), that's one event they enjoy organizing.
Every year in the summer, the mission hosts the town's festival - now just a one-day event - on its premises, once the former Ursuline Academy. In the 10 years or so since the festival started, the spot has become renowned for its orchard of sour cherry trees.
And every year, they invite agricultural and fruit experts from the University of Saskatchewan to give informative talks during the event. Fruit expert Dr. Bob Bors is quite keen to talk about how the whole sour cherry business developed, because he was one of the instigators of both the orchard and the festival.
"It was back in 2001 when the University of Saskatchewan had an education extension at the St. Therese Academy," he said. "I was driving out here with Bruce Hobin, who was the manager of the extension division at the time, and I said maybe someday we'll have a festival here, where we can pick cherries. And he said, well why wait? Let's have one this year. So the year we planted (the initial cherry trees) was the first Cherry Sunday."
Ever since, he has been a regular speaking guest and gladly imparts his knowledge about fruit-growing in the area.
"We are one of five fruit breeding programs in the country," Bors told his avid listeners on August 19 at Bruno Cherry Sunday. "And we are the only one in Zone 2 - most of the others are in Zone 5."
Bors mentions this to explain how unusual it is for these crops to be so successful in a geographical area that experiences extreme winter temperatures. He attributes the success of Saskatchewan's cherry crop to the soil in the area, which seems to provide the kind of nourishment these trees need to survive and thrive.
Bors also credits the Ursuline sisters who ran the facility for the overall success of the orchard today.
"We planted the first set of trees that year, but it was the nuns that planted the rest of the orchard. The university could have bought the land for next to nothing, but the nuns wanted to get some money for it.
"So they replanted the orchard - they paid for the rest of the orchards to go in with the idea that it would only help increase the value of the property."
By then, the Bruno Cherry Festival was born. Now, the annual event unites cherry lovers, orchard fanatics, artisans and families who want to enjoy a Sunday out.
There is even a baking contest for cherry-based food items. Along with a traditional lattice-topped cherry pie, other entries included a chocolate cherry log, a cherry cobbler, cherry muffins and a cherry strudel. Judges Cecilia Kachkowski and Lily Sawatzky - editors of the newly released Cooking with Cherries - were invited to use their discerning palates to make the final decision among the choices.
This year, because they chose to hold the festival in August, the orchard was open for public picking, making it an added draw. Sour-cherry connoisseurs were busy filling ice cream buckets with the plump, ripe fruit still laden on the trees.
For some, it meant finding a long-lost friend.
"I've been looking for sour cherries to make cakes," said Vesna Milovanovic of Saskatoon. She was picking in the orchard with her son, Mihailo, and couldn't believe her good fortune to have finally found the sour cherries she needs for many of her favourite recipes from her native Serbia.
"We've been here for six years," said Milanovic. "This is the first time I have been able to find a place where I could get them."
While many visitors to the festival took advantage of the chance to pick in the orchard, others were content to just sit on the lawn and enjoy a cherry sundae and listen to the variety of entertainment provided on the Bruno Cherry Sunday stage.
