Saddle up for an exciting 61st Vernon Winter Carnival.
Carnival of the Wild West has been announced as the theme for the 2021 event, the 61st annual Carnival, slated for Feb. 5-14, 2021.
The theme is based on suggestions from the community.
The Winter Carnival is coming off its highly successful 60th anniversary event, Carnival Remembers the 1960s.
“This (Wild West) is a theme that has been requested a lot over the years,” said Vicki Proulx, Carnival’s executive director. “Not only does this theme allow us to showcase a big part of Vernon’s history, but it gives some great opportunity for new and unique events.”
The theme announcement was made Tuesday, March 10, at the Vernon Schubert Centre as the Carnival handed out its annual awards and thanked its many volunteers and sponsors.
Making the announcement were Zach Palmer of Carnival’s presenting sponsor, Valley First – which announced a new two-year deal with Carnival to remain presenting sponsor – and outgoing chairperson Deb White, whose term has ended.
“Wild West Carnival is going to be an amazing event,” White said. “We feel that every member of the family can get involved with this theme and look forward to seeing everyone at the 2021 Wild West Carnival.”
All community businesses and organizations are encouraged to saddle up and host a Carnival event. Proulx said the 2020 Carnival showcased many vintage events which the community enjoyed.
“So we’d love for businesses and organizations to look at the Carnivals of the past and see what events might be ready for a comeback,” Proulx said.
Home Building Centre got into the spirit of the ’60s theme, collecting items to display as early as August 2019, and decorating every part of the store in a 1960s theme. Home Building was presented with the Carnival Spirit Award Tuesday.
The Vernon Girls Trumpet Band Alumni, which reunited for the 60th anniversary Carnival which included performing in the annual event parade, was named winner of the Christel Cam Memorial Award for Parade Spirit.
Close to 20 alumni were on-hand and gave an impromptu performance outside the Schubert Centre to the delight of the neighbours at Catherine Gardens. They also performed in the Schubert Centre’s meeting room, reaching a decibel level of 111.5 as recorded by the phone app Decibel X.
READ MORE: Vernon Winter Carnival salutes the Sixties
READ MORE: Alumni trumpet band trikes emotional chord for Vernon girls
Other award winners included:
jopo/jopette of the year: Toshie Okada;
Carnival Cop of the Year: John Fawcett;
Best Outdoor Event: Vintage Snowmobile Poker Run, Vernon Snowmobile Association; (Runner-up: Beer Can Beiner, Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre);
Best Seniors Event: Bingo Marathon, Halina Centre; (Runner-up: 60s Square Dance, Star Country Squares);
Best Junior Event: Kids Carnival, Okanagan Boys and Girls Club; (Runner-up: Tie-Dye Troubles, Okanagan Science Centre);
Best Family Event: Mother-Daughter Princess Tea, Village Green Hotel; (Runner-up: Pancake Breakfast, Halina Centre);
Best Adult Event: Doesn’t Time Fly?, Backstage Theatre dinner theatre; (Runner-up: Summer of Love Dance, MACE);
Best New Event: Total Fun Bed Races, Castanet/Total Restoration; (Runner-up: Remember the 1960s, Greater Vernon Museum and Archives).
Event and sponsorship applications are available now for 2021 on the Carnival website.
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