THE PARTY RETURNS TO THE PARK
Waskimo Winter Festival a success
Wascana Park doesn’t usually host this many smiles in February.
The Waskimo Winter Festival returned to Regina on Monday, bringing thousands of people to enjoy the many events offered.
After a 15-year hiatus, the beloved festival was brought back and dubbed a huge success by organizers. Those attending thought the same thing.
Andi Schenk brought her kids and a nephew out.
“I was a little skeptical to go out on the ice, but the kids went skating. My nephew went skating for the first time,” she said.
Sure, there could have been a bit more snow. The ice — dubbed “100 per cent safe” by organizers — was a little slushy, but people of all ages were still buzzing around.
Callum McGinn, 12, was happy he was able to come with his family and check it out.
“I haven’t ever been to a Waskimo. Since I’ve been born, it was cancelled. This is the first year I’ve been able to go to Waskimo, and it’s been really cool,” he said. “It’s not like a hockey rink, really. Everyone is doing their own thing out here, some people are walking and then some people are skating.”
Suzy Krause came to watch the Hole-lympics Outhouse Races and wasn’t disappointed. The race featured teams who had crafted their own porta-potties. They raced them across the ice as hundreds cheered them on.
“They were way more entertaining than I thought they’d be,” she said.
“A lot more danger than I expected,” added her husband, Barclay.
That danger was apparent to Alyssa Kristensen, who was parked on the winning team’s toilet. “I am a little bit scared,” she said before the first race.
She was all smiles — and injury free — afterwards, though.
Natalie Seymour came out with members of her under-eight Rocket Girls ringette team for a skate on the ice. “There’s a lot of people here,” she said.
Jim Aho, the festival producer, said the magic of the event is being able to use Wascana Lake.
“It does my heart good to see the kind of crowd, the kind of enthusiasm and emotion for Waskimo,” he said.
“It made us sad to think a whole generation of kids has grown up in Regina and not seen Waskimo, until now,” he said.