Sturgeon County families will get to see a Morinville man lift a car this weekend as part of some Family Day fun.
Some 1,500 people are expected to come to the Edmonton Garrison Fitness Centre this Monday to take part in a free Family Day festival.
This year’s festival is modelled after an old-time carnival and will feature circus performers, face-painting, inflatables, and classic carnival games such as the ring toss and high striker (where you hit a lever with a mallet to send a puck flying up a tower to ring a bell), said organizer Jennifer Subchuk.
New this year will be a strongman demonstration led by Morinville’s Scott Wallace.
Strongman shows were a common feature of carnivals in the past, and many local strongman competitors and powerlifters are members of the military, Wallace noted.
Wallace said he and a few other strongman competitors would be at the festival all day to talk about their sport and show off the equipment. At about 12:30 p.m., they’ll put their powerful pectorals to use to lift 150-pound circus dumbbells, 300-pound concrete spheres, and a roughly 1,500 kg military jeep.
“The kids love this kind of stuff,” Wallace said, and he expects the show will draw a crowd.
The festival is free with a donation to the food bank and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit bit.ly/2TVBWiN for details.
Snowman Festival
The Town of Morinville’s Snowman Festival is also offering some Family Day weekend fun, with some concessions to the weather.The party starts Sunday morning at the Morinville Fish and Game Pond, where guests will get to try ice fishing (no license required) and cabane à sucre (snow-frozen maple syrup) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Morinville culture and events programmer Chantal Godberson. After you warm up with some crafts and stories at the town library from 1 to 2 p.m., you can head over to the Community Cultural centre at 3 p.m. for a free showing of Ralph Breaks the Internet. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., and you might want to line up early – some 400 people showed up for last year’s free film.
While the town originally planned to hold its Family Day celebrations at Heritage Lake, Godberson said they’ve moved them to the Ray McDonald Sports Centre due to the cold weather. The three-on-three pond hockey tournament is still a go, but the outdoor fire pit and games are not. The horse-drawn sleigh might be cancelled if it’s too cold for the horses.
Also not on the agenda this year is the snowman competition, which the town dropped due to a dearth of entries in the last few years, Godberson said. Instead, kids will get to play board games, build snow sculptures using beach toys and cloud dough (a mix of flour and baby oil), and hang out with some off-brand versions of Elsa and Olaf from the film Frozen.
The Family Day events run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and are free. There’s also a free hot dog and hot chocolate lunch for anyone who brings a donation to the Morinville Food Bank Society. Visit morinville.ca for details.
