Published in The BANAR September 2022
Brent Lawrie, FunFair Co-Chair
The FunFair committee would like to express its gratitude to the whole Blackburn Community for coming out and supporting this annual event. It was great to see everyone back enjoying a fantastic fun-filled weekend after a two-year hiatus. There was a plethora of positive feedback about this year’s FunFair and the organizing committee appreciates this immensely. As you know, this year we were not able to get any carnival rides, which had a huge effect on the planning and organizing of the FunFair. The committee brainstormed and came up with new and unique attractions, activities and food offerings, as we returned to our FunFair roots to provide another very memorable FunFair to kick-start your summer.
The beautiful weather all weekend sure helped contribute to the great turnout this year. Friday night started off with a fantastic movie night in the arena; the mixed softball tournament was another hit again this year; the Friday and Saturday entertainment, in the bigger tent, was remarkable and enjoyed by all; the parade ranks at the top, and was enthusiastically attended; we had an excellent turnout for the kids games, climbing walls, dunk tank and volleyball; the arena was bustling with a great showcase, ever-popular used book sale, activities and displays; the BBQ was well served and enjoyed along with the newer food offerings; the inflatable activities, Northern Screamers, car smashing and Vengeance Van were big hits, and the extended 50th anniversary fireworks on Saturday night were a blast. On Sunday we had great participation for the 1k and 5k FunRuns; and one of the best and most entertaining dog shows to date.
Much gratitude to our sponsors and fantastic community as $15,000 will be distributed back to our community organizations, school programs, and associations within Blackburn. Check out our web page blackburnfunfair.ca/get-involved/supporters/ for the list of our major sponsors. Distribution of honourariums and a full list of sponsors and contributors to our Silent Auction, will be reported in the next BANAR after our ‘wrap up’ meeting in September.
As always, my appreciation and admiration to all the great volunteers on the organizing committee and those who helped during the FunFair weekend. An event of this magnitude could not happen without your time and dedication.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for next year’s FunFair, which will be Friday June 2 to Sunday June 4, 2023.