Published December 15, 2022 · Updated September 29, 2026
Some places capture our attention because they’re beautiful.
Others because of what we can do there.
And then, every once in a while, we encounter a place whose name alone makes us stop.
That was Bala for me.
I was still discovering Ontario and experiencing many Canadian traditions for the first time when I learned there was a little town in Muskoka called Bala.
For most people, it was simply the name of a place.
For me, it was my grandmother’s family name.
And suddenly, an Ontario fall festival felt strangely connected to a story that had begun thousands of miles away in the Philippines.
Oh, There’s a Place Called Bala?!
Oh, there’s a place called BALA?! Do you know that Bala is my paternal grandmother’s family name? Growing up, I didn’t really like it much because bala means “bullet” in English and I got bullied for that. However, it’s a famous family name in our hometown so I am always proud being a Bala with our trademark “pretty-well” noses. Lol! Yeah, we’ve inherited our true-blue Filipino noses from the Balas!
Anyway, learning that there’s a township called Bala in Ontario made my heart giddy! Our family name is a name of a place here in Ontario with an annual celebration of cranberry festival! I must be so proud! And thanks to my JIL family for the opportunity to experience my very first fall festival here in Canada!
Reading these words again years later, something stands out to me that I didn’t fully understand when I first wrote them.
A name I once didn’t like had become a name that made my heart giddy.
Isn’t it strange how the meaning we attach to something can change as we do?
The word hadn’t changed.
The family name hadn’t changed.
But perhaps I had.
My First Fall Festival in Canada
There was another reason this day mattered.
It was my very first fall festival in Canada.
Autumn itself had once been something I mostly knew through photographs, movies and stories. Now I was experiencing the season through the traditions of the country I was learning to call home.
And Bala gave me plenty to explore.
The Cranberry Festival in Bala, Ontario is celebrated every midweek of October since 1984 to extend the tourist season and to improve the quality of life in the local community. It aims to promote over a hundred local businesses in metal, leather, and wood creations, body care, visual and literature arts, culinary delights with all the cranberry delicacies, pottery, clothing, jewelry, etc.
As a small business owner in the Philippines, local enterprises are dear to my heart. With every product made of love, one cannot question the authenticity and honesty of it. Apart from that, when purchasing locally made products, one is not only buying but also supporting local businesses that support us and our local community. So being there at one of Ontario’s fall festivals was also like being in a trade fair of artistic, creative, homemade, and handmade products. Do drop by for the list of exhibitors and photos here!
Look Beyond the Cranberries
This is one of the things I’d encourage you to notice if you visit a festival like this.
It’s easy to arrive thinking about the attraction everyone talks about—in this case, cranberries.
But look at the tables.
Talk to the vendors.
Notice what people have made with their hands.
Behind those products are small businesses, artists, makers and families.
Perhaps my own experience as a small business owner in the Philippines was why this part of the festival resonated with me so much.
Exploring a place isn’t only about seeing what makes it beautiful.
Sometimes it’s also about noticing the people who give a place its character.
When Tita Mae Became a Kid Again
And then there was the fun.
Aside from the exhibiting vendors, there were also the amusement rides, inflatables, Lego giant blocks, and other activities for the kids! Not only Yassi (the little girl who comforted me with her tiny warm hand during my first Canadian winter) and Randy enjoyed but also the kid in Tita Mae delighted in everything kiddie! We did the corn maze, the chuchu train, the Ferris Wheel, etc.! It was like going to a carnival when I was little. It was just great now because I didn’t have to pay for each entry (in the Philippines we do). The festival admission already includes everything! If you’re planning to visit next year, book your tickets in advance as they sell out too quickly! Visit the festival’s official website here.
I love this part of my original story because there is something wonderfully uncomplicated about it.
You can move to another country.
Take on adult responsibilities.
Build a career.
Worry about the future.
Try to figure out where your life is going.
And then you get on a little chuchu train or a Ferris wheel and suddenly—you’re a kid again!
Maybe that’s another reason exploring matters.
New experiences don’t always have to transform us into someone new.
Sometimes they simply bring back a part of ourselves we haven’t seen in a while.
One Rhythm, One Accord
Additionally, music is the heart of the Cranberry Festival in Bala, Ontario. Just like the Balas of Ozamiz, locals of Bala are very talented musicians. It was a great privilege and honor to me to have experienced playing the native drums with some of the Indigenous performers! Kuya Jason also enjoyed jamming along with Yassi and Randy. Everybody had a blast with one rhythm and in one accord!
Of everything I wrote in this paragraph, the words that stay with me now are:
“one rhythm and in one accord.”
Different backgrounds.
Different stories.
Different places we called home.
And for a little while, everyone was simply enjoying the same moment together.
And Of Course… The Cranberries!
Lastly, what is a Cranberry Festival in Bala, Ontario when the famous stepping on cranberries is not performed? It is the highlight of the festival, the ritual and tradition of crushing cranberries by foot! It is hosted in a different location with different admission. Visit the Muskoka Lakes Farm and Winery for more information about the cranberry plunge. And in the festival, you can get a free take home photo at the cranberries photo booth too!
If you’re planning your own visit, I’d treat the festival and the cranberry farm experience as two parts of a larger Bala adventure rather than assuming everything happens in one place.
And if you have more time, don’t stop exploring when the festival ends.
Bala is part of the larger Muskoka region—one of the Ontario places that has continued to capture my heart as I’ve explored more of this province. Another visit took me to Huntsville, where something as ordinary as the bruschetta on our table eventually inspired a completely different reflection—this time about womanhood, identity and embracing the different sides of ourselves.
→ Read: Bruschetta or Capriccio: An Ode to Strong, Independent Women
Come Along With Us
I only have a few photos to share with you here and for a complete coverage of our day at the Cranberry Festival, watch my short vlog below!
Thank you, my JIL family for this post-birthday gift for me! 🙂
Years Later, Bala Means Something More
When I first wrote this story, I was simply delighted that there was a town in Ontario that shared my grandmother’s family name.
It felt funny.
Familiar.
And somehow special.
But years later, I think I understand why that coincidence touched me so deeply.
When you begin again somewhere new, so much of life can feel unfamiliar.
The roads are different.
The seasons are different.
The traditions are different.
Even ordinary things require learning again.
I would feel that unfamiliarity even more deeply when my first Canadian winter arrived. That season challenged me in ways this joyful fall day hadn’t yet prepared me for, but it would also become part of learning how to find my way back to myself.
→ Read: My First Winter in Canada: Dancing My Way Back to Myself
And then, in the middle of all that newness, you encounter something familiar.
Bala.
A name from my childhood.
A name from my family.
A name that once made me uncomfortable because I was teased about it.
And there it was on a road sign in Ontario.
Perhaps that is why this wasn’t simply another tourist attraction for me.
It was a tiny reminder that moving forward doesn’t require us to erase where we came from.
We Carry Pieces of Home with Us
I used to think that starting over meant building something entirely new.
But the longer I’ve lived away from the Philippines, the more I realize that we don’t arrive in a new chapter empty-handed.
We bring things with us.
Family names.
Childhood memories.
Food.
Humour.
Faith.
Stories.
The people who raised us.
Even the things we once wished were different about ourselves.
And sometimes a completely unfamiliar place has a strange way of bringing one of those pieces back to us.
That is what Bala did for me.
A new place in Canada reminded me of an old piece of myself.
And maybe that is part of what makes exploring so meaningful.
We’re not only discovering places.
Sometimes, through those places, we rediscover ourselves.
What Might a Place Bring Back to You?
Maybe there is a place that reminds you of your grandmother.
A smell that takes you back to childhood.
A festival that reminds you of celebrations you once knew.
A landscape that looks nothing like home—and somehow makes you think of home anyway.
Pay attention to those moments.
Because the beauty of exploring isn’t only in what stands in front of us.
Sometimes it’s in what that place awakens inside us.
Want to Notice More Along the Way?
You don’t have to travel all the way to Muskoka to experience this.
Meaningful moments are happening much closer to us than we realize.
A familiar name.
A child’s laughter.
Something handmade.
A song.
A memory that suddenly returns.
These are exactly the kinds of things I want to help you notice through The Beauty Around You: A 7-Day Journey to Slow Down and Notice More.
For seven days, I’ll invite you to slow down and pay closer attention to the beauty, memories and meaning already woven into your everyday life.
→ Begin the 7-Day Journey
Continue Your Journey
Explore Somewhere
Bala is only one of the towns, lakes, forests and little corners of Ontario that have become part of my journey.
→ Explore 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Could Capture Your Heart
Notice Something
You don’t always need a spectacular destination to find something beautiful. Sometimes it’s a familiar name, a handmade object, a shared laugh or the kid inside you coming out to play.
Become Something
Starting over can change where we live without erasing where we’ve come from. Our old stories can travel with us—and sometimes help us understand who we’re becoming.