Chestermere – Chestermere keeps its small town feeling by having this great fair and it seems the turnout for this event gets bigger every year. The parade was bigger; more people lined the streets to take in the bands and floats, not to mention the copious amount of candy thrown out to the onlookers. The theme this year was the Tribute to the Scarecrow and I believe it was a hit for the parade and the fair that followed. The stream of parade goers flowed from the residential streets to the Recreation Centre to take in the festivities of the day; many starting at the pancake breakfast put on by the Lions Club. A breakfast tragedy was averted when one of the volunteers acquired a fresh supply of pancake syrup just in time. The Kidzone was packed for the entire day with an array of bouncy houses, entertainment to suit every taste, a petting zoo, face painting, just to mention a few activities and perhaps one of the most cherished, the comfort station tent for weary adults tired and worn out seeking refuge from the sun and crowd for even a few minutes. Catch your breath and away you go to visit the many exhibits at the trade show/marketplace out in the parking lot and inside the Rec. Centre gym where merchants set up their covers and displayed a wide range of items to purchase. There were also a variety of vendors to arrest the stomach pangs from French fries to hot dogs and ice cream cones. Speaking of arresting, the SurfSUP team of Shane & Kameil reached their intended goal of purchasing a paddleboard for Camp Chestermere; they had a lot of fun doing the Jail and Bail and will hope for a better location for next years fair. Bring your bail money!! Right behind the jail was the Wild West Family Saloon where the entertainment never stopped. Line dancing and country music filled the air and delighted the ear drums of young and old. Right next door was the Whitecappers Country Kitchen that dished out several cups of coffee and hundreds of scoops of ice cream for their delicious pies and cones. Out in front of the Jail was a display of Scarecrows the feature attraction of the event. The Chestermere CIBC sponsored the contest and the scarecrows were voted on by the public at the event. There were cash prizes awarded to the different categories except the Business & Services- what a great theme and what an outstanding response.
Kids 12 & Under 1st place Jennifer Wilding
Not for Profit Groups -1st place Chestermere Whitecappers, 2nd place Chestermere Chiefs Football Club and 3rd place went to YELL Youth Leadership Team
Families and Neighborhoods – 1st Place-The Penny’s, 2nd place-The Cook Kids and 3rd Place-The Zambery’s
Businesses and Services-1st Place & Bragging Rights went to the Town of Chestermere Public Works Department
There was also a Bike decorating contest. The winners are as follows;- 6-8 yrs – 1st – Kiana Morrell, 2nd – Paityn Skrynyk, 3rd – Tony Wourms. In the 9-12 years – 1st – Darienne Wourms, 2nd – Braedan Bennett
Deeper inside the Rec. Centre, and into the curling rink, lied a gigantic assortment of entries into the Red Ribbon Competition. There were hundreds of entries for the over 250 categories. Congratulations to all. The STARS Fundraiser pie auction was started off by none other than Kevin Sorenson our MP Crowfoot. He could no doubt take up auctioneering as a second career if he decides to get out of the political scene. What a talent you have Kevin. The Red Ribbon Pie Auction raised $1940 to be donated to STARS from the Chestermere Agricultural Society. The Chestermere Agricultural Society wishes to say a huge THANK YOU to all our pie makers for donating their time and all the bidders for the generous amounts bid. The highest bid was $250.00 for a peach raspberry pie. I am sure they savored every bite!
There were 11 teams in the Annual Country Fair Fun Slo Pitch Tournament. The winners were:
A Division -1st, Schlepps -2nd, Hi Balls
B Division -1st, Mayhem – 2nd, Just One More
C Division – 1st, Rusty Pipes – 2nd, Outcasts
Best Dressed Team: The Square Crows
Public opinion is very important to the Recreation Centre so if anyone has any suggestions for them to make the fair bigger and better, please email – recreation@chestermerecrca.com . 2014 will be the 25th Annual Country Fair so we hope to have a very special Country Fair that year and the public feedback would help us in that direction!
The staff and organizers of the Chestermere Recreation Centre would like give a big thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered or donated. The Fair would not be possible without the support of the community!
