That’s a wrap! The 44th annual Griz Days has come and gone, with passive events around town, virtual events all over Facebook, bags of popcorn, a drive-by float parade, fireworks and more keeping Fernie entertained over the weekend.
“Although we missed getting together in person this year, there was still a lot of opportunity for the community to engage with Griz Days festivities – and they did,” said Brad Parsell of the Fernie Chamber of Commerce.
“Last time I checked at the end of the weekend, the ‘History of Griz Days’ mini documentary had been viewed over 2,000 times on Facebook. We had over 200 vehicles drive through our stationary parade float display at Fernie Secondary School on Saturday afternoon. Not to mention the Light Up The Night Fireworks display on Saturday night that was enjoyed by the whole community.”
While only a limited run of Griz Pins were made this year, Parsell said that as of the Monday after, they were almost all sold out.
In keeping with the theme of making Griz Days all about giving back to the community, the owner of the winning pin (which as of printing, will have been picked on Wednesday), will get to nominate a local charity of their choice to receive a $1,000 donation in their name.
“Honestly, the modified version of Griz Days our team came up with went better than even we had hoped. We have had overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community. People seem genuinely appreciative that at least some elements were able to go ahead in some way.”
While it was all fun and games, Parsell added that he and the team at the Chamber sincerely hoped that the 44th annual Griz Days would be the first and last ‘modified’ version of the festival, with fingers crossed for a return to form in 2022.
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