The City of Estevan鈥檚 pre-Canada 150 celebration was deemed a success with the event ending up well attended as swaths of Energy City residents went out to take advantage of the many activities offered.
The event took place Friday afternoon and evening at Centennial Park and in front and inside of Affinity Place, featuring live entertainment, bouncy castles, food vendors and lots of other things to keep people busy and amused.
鈥�(It was) awesome. It was one of the best events ever I think 鈥� great turnout, tons of kids and lots for them to do,鈥� said Rod March, parks manager for the City of Estevan.
鈥淭he concert was great, we had two different bands there; we had a little bit of a hindrance with the weather because it rained a bit, I think it may have scared a couple of people away, but it looks like they came back and we couldn鈥檛 be happier with the turnout and how the crowd behaved.鈥�
Though March couldn鈥檛 give an exact number on how many people who showed up for the pre-Canada 150 celebration, he said a lot of the vendors ran out of food, with a few having to leave early, so that could be an indication of the size of the crowd.
Some of the other popular attractions included a kids鈥� science show put on by Regina鈥檚 Funtazm and the local emergency services鈥� open house, where the Estevan Police Service (EPS) and Estevan Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) had their vehicles on display, as well as EPS鈥� new K-9 unit.
At roughly 5 p.m. Funtazm got the children riled up to sing O Canada and Happy Birthday and 150 cupcakes were brought out in the shape of a maple leaf to show some patriotism.聽
鈥淚t was successful and to pull that off in a couple months, because that鈥檚 when the funding became available, I think we did pretty good considering the timelines,鈥� said March of the event.
鈥淲e got some really good entertainment and we couldn鈥檛 have been happier.鈥�
Live music was provided by former Estevan resident Chris Henderson, who started things off, followed by Third Degree Birnz who kept the crowd going into the night, until just before midnight when Happy Birthday and O Canada were sung again alongside an additional 150 cupcakes.
A flag raising ceremony was led by the Royal Canadian Legion's Estevan branch where bagpipes played and the Canadian flag was lifted up by the ladder of a fire truck, a display March described as beautiful.
鈥淚t went really well, they just used the fire truck; obviously it鈥檚 not as good as having an actual flagpole, but we just adapted to our surroundings and it worked out really well,鈥� he said.
The overall turnout was so good, in fact, March added if the prospect arose to do it again in coming years the city would likely jump at the chance.
鈥淚f the opportunity comes up as it did this time we will definitely put on another festival similar to this one because we consider it a real success and it was really good,鈥� he said.
