MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Shriners Children's Festival was held over the June 15 weekend at Wakamow Kiwanis Skating Oval. This event was free to attend and worked in conjunction with the Wakamow Farmers Market held the same day.
The Children's Festival offered a full slate of events and activities for all ages, including a petting zoo, the Girl Guide face painting booth, entertainment, the educational Sask Reptile Show, a magic show and a dance demonstration by Dance Images. The afternoon events concluded with a musical performance.
There were also additional options for entertainment. The Moose Jaw Tour Trolley provided tours every 15 to 20 minutes, and several carnival games organized by the Shriners kept kids entertained.
Several cosplayers from Joe’s Place dressed as fan-favorite superheroes, including Spiderman, Gwen Stacy and Iron Man and a large raptor roamed the venue.
Food options were plentiful, with Kona Ice and the Top Dog Food truck. The Shrine Club also provided 1,000 free hot dogs to the first 1,000 kids.
“Last year there were over 3,000 people and we cooked 1,500 hotdogs, with maybe 50 leftover. So, (there was) pretty good attendance," explained Earl Swan, the event organizer.
"I would imagine this year, from what we've seen already, it'll be busier than last year, so we might have to cook more hotdogs."
This was the second year that the Shriners Children’s Festival took place in Wakamow, allowing for a broader audience compared to its previous location at the Western Development Museum.
This partnership between the Shrine Club and Wakamow Valley Authority (WVA) enabled the festival to expand, with the WVA contributing activities like the farmer's market, trolley rides, a bouncy castle and canoe rides while sharing the cost of entertainment with the Shrine Club.
The Shriners expressed gratitude to all attendees for their support and acknowledged their major sponsor JGL for making the event possible.
For more information about the Moose Jaw Shrine Club, visit their website at https://moosejawshrineclub.wildapricot.org/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MooseJawShrineClub.
