Stokes Bay Summerfest – A Wonderful Day

Saturday, 24 July 2004, was the perfect day for outdoor activities and activities we had. The day started 7:30 a.m. with Bob Zavitz serving up one of his special ‘Breakfast-on-a-bun’ and then at 8 a.m. the Garage Sale for the Old School House Seniors of Stokes Bay.

Breakfast was the needed energy boost as the Penny Table Sale was finalized, the Crafters arrived and set up their wares for the Craft Fair. The Fire Department arrived with their Smoke House and the Rescue Vehicle display was arranged. The Super Bus was there for the kids enjoyment. Later, the bar was stocked for the afternoon and evening entertainment.

By 10 o’clock, the younger members of the community arrived with their bicycles festooned with balloons and streamers. We then set off at 11 a.m. for a parade from the Community Centre to the General Store, the sight of the 2nd Annual Soap Box Derby. The road was closed, the vehicles were in position and the race was on. After a number of races, trophies and prizes were awarded to the winners, namely Boyd and Noah McLay for 1st place, John Liverance and Mike Martindale for 2nd place and Nathan Henderson and Kim Liverance for 3rd in the six to 13 age category. Kristan and Melina-Jo Spalding won the over 13 category after a display run.

Now, it was back to the Community Centre where Bob Zavitz had switched from breakfast to lunch mode with an array of hamburgs, hot dogs and sausages on a bun. Inside, John Goy was making french fries to fill a steady demand. The Penny Table was a-buzz with activity as was the sale of Specialty Draw tickets. Meanwhile, outside, there was a Baseball Throw and a Football Throw, where every entrant received a prize and then had their name put in for a draw on a child’s bicycle. There were two Dodge Ball games and a Duck Race in the river using balls (so not to endanger little ducks) with the adult winner being Bob Smith and the youth winner was Riley Burley.

The local, live entertainment, namely Mary Cameron, Roy Whitehead, John Northey, John Baker, Bob Hellyer, Mary Kelly, Terry Sugg, Kay Warder and Alex Petroff arrived by 2 o’clock, donating their time and talent to provide listening enjoyment in the pavilion for the remainder of the afternoon.

At 3 o’clock the crowd moved inside again for the Penny Table Sale and Speciality Draw. Deb Tackaberry of Lion’s Head won the Wooden Blanket Box donated by Larry Reay of the Durham Furniture Company. Colette Sauve’s sister, Lynn Arbuckle from Oakville, won the wood Log Cabin Bird Feeder donated by Mr. Harold Harmer of Lion’s Head and Travis Sloane of Cape Chin, who just minutes before and left with his mother, won the bicycle donated by Blue Roof Cottages.

At 4 o’clock, to give the adults attending a break and the workers time to re-organize, a large tarpaulin was spread out at the back of the field where a substantial pile of wood shavings / sawdust was dumped for The Nickel Dig. Sponsored by Liverance Lumber and the Troy Adams Service Centre in Ferndale, $40 in nickels were scattered through the wood shavings and the children under 6 had three minutes, followed by children, ages 7 to 9, having three minutes, followed by a free-for-all to recover the nickels. The wood shavings were still being sifted through by a few die-hard adventurers even beyond 6 p.m.

At 5 o’clock, Bob Zavitz gave the call that supper was ready, which was a Cold Buffet consisting of Roast Beef and Roast Turkey accompanied by very large bowls of Potato Salad, Tossed Salad, Tuna Salad, Cole Slaw and an number of smaller donated salads plus a vast assortment of donated desserts.

At 8 o’clock, the Youth Dance and Karioke, graciously provided by Elaine Scott, started inside the Community Centre while the Red Rascal Band from Hanover took over the pavilion for an evening of music and dancing. John Northey of Wiarton joined the band for awhile on the fiddle. The day was topped off at 11 p.m. with a light lunch, and the drawing of the Cash Draw. The prizes of $500, $300 and $200 were won by Freda Warder of Lion’s Head, Cheryl and Mark Hewton of Miller Lake and Paul Hird of Stokes Bay, respectfully.

The Stokes Bay Community Centre would like to thank everyone who helped throughout the day, all the generous businesses and people who donated various prizes, music and entertainment, and most importantly, THEIR TIME.

All in all, it was A Wonderful Day.