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.
Hundreds of residents over the weekend found reason to celebrate in the midst of what has been a frigid and snowy winter season. The Bust the Blues Winter Festival wrapped up yesterday afternoon with organizers sporting bright smiles beneath their red cheeks. "It was excellent," said Aimee Deans, special events coordinator for Flin Flon Parks and Recreation. "Everything was well-attended and it will be even bigger and better next year." This year marked the first time that Flin Flon's Sled Dog Races and Creighton's Chilly Willy Winter Festival merged together as a single entity. The new festival combined all the favourite aspects of the former festivals and mixed in some fresh ideas as well. One of the more popular events took place on the frozen surface of Ross Lake on Saturday afternoon, when more than a dozen mushers competed in the exciting sled dog races. In between cheering on the mushers, the crowd, which Deans estimated to include over 60 people, took part in events such as the snowman building contest and snowshoe races. "With the weather, we were surprised to see that many people stay on the ice," commented Deans. The festival also included the Bust the Winter Blues Social on Saturday night, with more than 200 people turnout out to enjoy themselves to the music of popular local band High Noon. "The social exceeded our expectations," commented Deans. The list of things to do at the festival went on and on. Bargain hunters checked out a flea market at the Creighton Sportex; seniors entered card tournaments; and ice fishers took their rods to Phantom Lake for a fishing derby, to name a few of the activities. Deans said she was pleased that the Flin Flon, Creighton and Friendship Centre staff were able to come together to offer a larger festival to residents. She saw the festival as a good way to bring residents of the local communities together. "It's been a long time coming," she said. The final results of the various festival events will be made available later this week.
