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Clyde shows its pride

Sunny weather and an array of low-cost children’s activities made for a “fun day for families” at the fifth annual Clyde Summer Solstice Festival, which was hosted by the Clyde and District Agricultural Society on Saturday.
The Clyde and District Agricultural Society hosted its fifth annual Summer Solstice Festival June 18, drawing large crowds due to the sunny weather. Kash Neumiller, 3, hopes
The Clyde and District Agricultural Society hosted its fifth annual Summer Solstice Festival June 18, drawing large crowds due to the sunny weather. Kash Neumiller, 3, hopes to land a catch at the fishing pond, one of the many activities targeted to young children at the festival.

Sunny weather and an array of low-cost children’s activities made for a “fun day for families” at the fifth annual Clyde Summer Solstice Festival, which was hosted by the Clyde and District Agricultural Society on Saturday.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Lorraine Robinson, a member of the ag society and one of the event’s organizers.

A pancake breakfast at the Clyde Curling Complex and a parade along through the village kicked off the festival.

There were more than 30 entries in the parade, which one judge noted stretched longer than Main Street. The theme this year for the parade was “Let the Sunshine In.”

Prizes were given out in two categories. The Village of Clyde won best float featuring either a family or community organization, while Westlock County took second place and Eleanor Hall School placed third.

In the equine category, the Vrozhay Ukrainian Dancers took first place, while the Raymond Pagé wagon group placed second and the Rebel Riders 4-H club placed third.

Most of the action then took place at the Clyde Agricultural Society grounds. There was a petting zoo, bouncy houses, a sand pile where children dug for tokens to exchange for candy, face painting, a ball tournament and a concession run by the Clyde Fire Department.

Robinson said they counted approximately 235 children using the inflatable bouncy houses, which was a good indication of their attendance.

There were also 110 kids present for the ball tournament, she indicated.

New to the fair this year was a “bumper balls” event.

Older children wore inflatable suits that they could use to charge into each other without anyone getting harmed.

Robinson said that attraction went over really well with the older kids, which is nice because many of their other events were tailored to younger children.

There was also mutton bustin’ and a children’s gymkhana for ages six to 18. The mutton bustin’ in particular drew out lots of young competitors.

Robinson said the original intention of the festival was to create a day “that was fun for families with little out-of-pocket cost. We’ve been able to achieve that.”

She stressed that the event would not be possible without their sponsors, noting there was probably $3,000 worth of sponsorship dollars invested in the event.

“That in itself is people stepping up and seeing the value in that day,” Robinson said.

She said a big thank-you must go to their volunteers, including the Clyde firefighters and the Golden Sunset 4-H Club, whose members came out and did a lot of the “little jobs” needed to set up the festival.

“It’s a really great community spirit (that) brings us together for a really fun little day for these kids,” she said.


Kevin Berger

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