Wakamow Valley general manager Donna MacQuarrie-Bye found herself with a bit of a problem during Winterfest in Kiwanis River Park on Sunday afternoon.
Organizers just couldn’t keep enough hot dogs in stock, which meant MacQuarrie-Bye had to make not just one but two trips to replenish what they had on hand throughout the day.
Normally, a couple of packages would have been enough to get through things -- but when close to a thousand people show up for an event that has traditionally attracted a few dozen, well, all sorts of logistics go out the window.
To say the least, the return of Winterfest was an overwhelming success, as folks of all ages descended on Wakamow Valley to enjoy the beautiful late-winter day while taking part in all sorts of activities on site.
“When mother nature cooperates with you, this is what happens, we’ve had an excellent, excellent turnout,” MacQuarrie-Bye said during a brief break from overseeing the event. “I wouldn’t even be able to guess how many people came out today, but it’s great to see the community out here and sharing in Winterfest.”
As is always the case with Winterfest, the weather played a huge part in its success. Past events have been met with bitterly cold temperatures that kept crowds home or unseasonably warm weather that turned things into a mucky mess. But with temperatures in the minus-9 C range, brilliant sunshine and almost no wind, folks were more than happy to head on down to the Valley for some fun.
It certainly didn’t hurt that there were plenty of things to do, from skating on the Wakamow Oval to trekking around on snowshoes, enjoying some fire-roasted marshmallows and the aforementioned hot dogs, trying out disc golf and, most popular of all, wagon rides with the Prairie Percherons.
A major part of Winterfest is just getting folks to come down the Wakamow Valley and see what there is to offer, something was successful, to say the least.
“The thing with COVID is it really helped with people coming to the park and using the park more, and it’s nice to see that’s continuing on,” MacQuarrie-Bye said. “It’s great to see that it’s still being utilized to this extent.”
Of course, Winterfest wouldn’t be what it is if there were all sorts of costs to the public. But with Maple Leaf Bakery donating donuts, the Co-Op handing off a gift card for food purchases and support from the City of Moose Jaw and Sask Lotteries, everything was either extremely cheap or completely free.
“This isn’t intended to make any money, but if we do, it’s a bonus for the park,” MacQuarrie-Bye said. “We just want to get the public out and the community out during a beautiful day in the winter.”
With the incredible success Sunday, thoughts are already turning to Winterfest 2024, with one plan already in place.
“We’ll buy more hot dogs well in advance next time,” MacQuarrie-Bye said with a laugh.
For more on Wakamow Valley and what they have to offer outside of Winterfest, be sure to visit www.wakamow.ca.
