Clyde Summer Solstice festival back for more

Organizers hoping for better weather than last year

There are big hopes that this year’s Clyde Summer Solstice celebrations will not endure the wrath of Mother Nature.

That’s the goal Linda McCoy is targeting for the second edition of the event, scheduled to take place June 23 at the village’s sports and rodeo grounds.

McCoy is one of the organizers of the day, and she’s hoping the sky will remain free of clouds after last year’s event was rained out and had to be bumped back a week.

A day primarily for the kids, McCoy said it’s an excellent way to have a family outing without breaking the bank.

“We’re just providing an afternoon of free fun activities for kids,” she said. “It’s an affordable way for families to get out and have something to do in their community.”

The festivities will start with a pancake breakfast at the seniors’ drop in centre at 8:30 a.m., followed by a parade winding its way from the curling rink down Main Street. And to make the parade more exciting, there will be prizes awarded for the best float.

Once the parade wraps up, the action returns to the rodeo grounds, McCoy said.

With inflatable playgrounds, a petting zoo, face painting and many other activities, the fair is designed to get people out of their houses.

“It gives everybody in the community the chance to get involved,” McCoy said.

In addition to the fair, there will also be a children’s gymkhana for kids 18 and under.

Having the gymkhana is all part of further embedding the rodeo spirit in Clyde’s youth, McCoy said.

“With the kids in Clyde, it’s starting to be a big event,” she said. “They run every Thursday and so this is an event for them to have a chance to compete instead of practices on Thursday.”

New this year is a bit more of a focus on things for adults to do, she added. One example is a country market featuring fresh produce, baking and homemade crafts.

A key difference from other such markets is that there aren’t any home-based businesses.

“It’s all homemade or homegrown kind of items in our market,” McCoy said.

Of course, for those who may overindulge in what’s on offer at the market, there will also be a fitness boot camp set up in the curling rink. It’s a chance for people to see what a boot camp is all about without having to commit to an entire weeks-long program.

With the fair in its second year, McCoy said the overall goal is not to lose the momentum generated by last year’s event.

“We’d really like to build on it and get lots of people coming out and try to establish this as a permanent community event,” she said.