After the flooding that happened a couple of weeks ago, one might think that an event called ‘Waterfest’ would be poorly timed given the irony in its title. But as much as Chestermere bands together during times of need, we also know how to come together for a celebration.
This long standing tradition took place on Saturday July 25th in John Peake Park and despite the initial forecast of stormy weather, that didn’t stop residents from Chestermere and surrounding communities from coming out to celebrate and take in the festivities.
Chestermere Mayor Patricia Matthews, members of city council and staff had a booth set up to help answer questions and provide information to residents that were impacted by the recent flooding.
Water Festival is the City of Chestermere’s annual celebration of summer on the lake! The day kicked off with the Wakeboard competition hosted by Water Ski Wakeboard Alberta (WSWA). Registrations took place online in the weeks leading up to the event, which took place on the north side of the lake.
The EPCOR Kids Fun Zone is always popular for kids of all ages with activities including a pirate bounce house, velcro climber wall, face painting, 18 ft. super slide, pirate obstacle course, kiddie striker, turtle rescue and the ever popular Captain Jack performance.
The artisans market was host to a variety of vendors and when it was time to eat, there was no shortage of options as food trucks lined the parking lot. For the over 18 crowd, a cold beverage could be had in the Chestermere Lions Beer Garden while enjoying music from the many performers that took to the stage throughout the day. The Summer Music Showcase stage was graced with performances by Black Sky Beach, Magik Spell, Sarah Curle, Blues Wak all before headliner Chemical Cowboys took to the stage to take the crowd into the night and to wrap it all up with a fireworks spectacular like no other!
Due to the forecast calling for severe thunderstorms, the Synergy Rubber Duck Race was postponed as dark skies were approaching. The duck race has been rescheduled for Thursday July 30th 7:00 pm. Ducks will be available for sale until 5pm Thursday at City Hall.
It goes without saying that events like this are always great for strengthening a community, but with the destruction of the past couple of weeks, this event was even more important. A chance for neighbours and friends to check in with each other, leave the soggy basements at home and celebrate the amazing community we live in. Great job to all of those that organized, participated and volunteered to make this event such a success!
