The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
From helicopter rides at Centoba Park to old favourites like the Fish Fry, the 63rd Annual Trout Festival went off without a hitch over the long weekend. The celebration coincided with Flin Flon's 80th Birthday Party, an event held last Friday, June 28 at Pioneer Square with various dignitaries on hand. Trout Festival president Tim Babcock provided the following summary of the Festival. **** This year's festival was indeed a success. We were thrilled with the turnout at all the events, especially the canoe races on Saturday. The fishing derby also saw an increase in entries this year. The biggest success of the weekend was clearly the helicopter rides with Wings Over Kississing. They ran all day Friday and went overtime on Saturday. I only wish I had time to take in a flight myself. One disappointment was the lack of entries for the Spirit of Trout Festival award. All the entries we received were good quality, but we would like to see more. It is such a simple thing to nominate a deserving high school student. We may be looking at changing the format next year by reducing the winners from two down to one. The turnout for Flin Flon's 80th Birthday was overwhelming. We really didn't know what to expect, but we'll be looking to utilize Pioneer Square more heading forward. As for the milestone of Flin Flon's 80th anniversary, Trout Festival is proud to be a part of Flin Flon's rich history. Every year we look forward to seeing our friends return to Flin Flon to celebrate the beginning of summer, and it is even more special when we can celebrate another decade of being a community. One of the highlights of the festival for me came during the parade. As we passed the Northern Lights Manor, there was a pretty good sized group of 80-year-olds who were celebrating along with the city. This was my fourth year as president, and I definitely enjoyed this year. Our volunteer base is getting stronger every year. We had new members on the executive this year as well as a few new directors. Some directors took on new responsibilities, which enabled me to take a step back and enjoy myself a little more. The crowd was a little smaller at the Fish Fry this year, but they were thirsty so it looks like we will at least break even. The anticipated donation from Wings Over Kississing will put us over the top and give us some healthy funds to invest in next year's festival. It is getting harder each year to make ends meet so it was definitely a welcome surprise when Curt (Enns of Wings Over Kississing) approached me about the possibility. (Half the proceeds from the helicopter rides will be donated to the festival). I may just be riding the high of a successful weekend, but I might be talked into sticking around for another year. We have a great volunteer base, and with a bit more help in some key areas, I think we can move forward knowing we're in pretty good shape. We had a lot of good feedback over the weekend, and I received a lot of praise that I would like to share with the rest of the committee, as well as my friends, my family and especially my wife Hollee. I can't do this on my own, and without them, everything would fall apart.
