Town of Erickson & R.M. of Clanwilliam

Erickson Winter Carnival 2010

Cold weather fun

 By CATE WATROUS

South Mountain Press

What a day! Erickson’s first Winter Carnival since 2003 was just what this community needed to shake off the winter blahs and have some fun.

The day started with a pancake breakfast served by the Erickson men’s hockey team. At the same time, entries rolled in for the baking contest. At judging time there were three full tables of baking!

Meanwhile outside on the fairgrounds, the Winter Olympics were on the go for those who wanted to burn off some energy. The activities included snowshoeing, skiing, toboganning and the very popular snow fort building. Dale Nichols gave wagon rides with his horses named Chap and Stick. Driving down Main Street on a horse-drawn wagon gave people a little glimpse of what this town would have been like one hundred years ago.

“This was just the kind of event Erickson used to have when I was a kid,” said Ron Miller of Sandy Lake. Miller’s family is from Erickson.

On the opposite end of the technology spectrum was the GPS Treasure Hunt. Using handheld GPS units, teams could follow pre-programmed coordinates and take a quick half-hour tour around the town and experience a tech-savvy twist on a favourite old activity. Friends of Riding Mountain National Park and the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve sponsored this event. If you didn’t get a chance to try the GPS Treasure Hunt in Erickson, head down to the Family Fun Day in Wasagaming on Sunday, March 7, for a second chance to try it out.

As the pancake breakfast ended, staff from the Erickson Credit Union took over the kitchen and served in the canteen for the rest of the day.

Erickson’s loveliest tart

While all this was going on, judging for the baking contest was underway. Judges Mark Wruth, Steve Geletchuk and Cam McKillop were faced with the daunting task of choosing the best of the best. Five categories didn’t seem like enough to them so they added another one: tarts. The only somewhat irreverent judges were all pleased to be able to announce Erickson’s most beautiful tart made by Mary Nichols. The winners in the other categories were: cakes, Monika Lambourne; pies, Arlene Waddell; cookies and bars, Spring Gregorash; breads, Marion Usick; muffins & loaves, Ron Miller. And the overall winner was Spring Gregorash for her handpainted spring-themed cookies. She will be able to soak away the hours of hard work that she put into those cookies with the Solstice Spa Mineral Pool passes she won for first prize.

Following the judging came the auction of the top two entries in each category. In what can best be described as a culinarily-induced bidding frenzy, some fantastic prices were reached. Nichols’ tarts sold for $27, and Lambourne’s cheesecake went for a whopping $50!

“The highlight for me was seeing that cheesecake go for $50,” said Jackie Greavett, treasurer for the skating rink board. “That made for some fun and something to talk about at coffee the next day.”

Meanwhile out on the ice, the action heated up as the Erickson Curling Club hosted a rock toss competition. At a dollar per toss, the competitive spirit was strong as the men gave it everything they had to prove who could throw the rock the furthest. Mark Wruth generously lent his able assistance on the broom sweeping away debris from the ice with a kitchen broom for his opponents. In the end there could be only one winner though and the honours went to Wruth even though he received a stiff challenge from the likes of Constable Chris Augstman of the RCMP, and Francois Duclos of Onanole.

“We had a playoff down the centre of the ice,” explained Lynne Gustafson from the Erickson Curling Club, who officiated over the fun. “The pot was $15 each for the winner and the rink, but without much encouragement, Mark donated his winnings back to the rink.”

RCMP as special guests (or “No arrests!”)

The RCMP were on hand to help with the hockey skills competition. They brought their radar gun to clock the fastest shots. Unfortunately, only the kids’ shots registered on the radar gun. The guys’ shots were just too fast! (Well, that’s what we told the guys!). Having Constables Augstman and Devin Scramstad there was the perfect opportunity for some of the public to get to know the newest RCMP members to come to the detachment. They chatted with the kids and joked with the adults, and in one of those great community policing moments that would make Sergeant Helmut Neufeld proud, it can now be said that the police actually came to a senior men’s hockey game and no one had to go to jail.

As for that hockey game, it didn’t have the same heart-stopping finish as the Olympic Men’s finals, but it was still a great match up. The Ononale Hockey League (OHL), long time more or less friendly rivals of the Erickson team, came down and showed their stuff, winning 11 to 4. The game was a real crowd pleaser.

Volunteers

After all was said and done, this fundraiser raised approximately $1,600 for the rink. This money will come in handy for some much needed repairs and upgrades to the facility. These will include better security lighting and more windows for the front door area as well as some new security doors and new furnace motors. The rink also just received a $7,000 grant from the Recreation Commission to be used for further capital improvement projects.

But in the end, it all still comes down to the volunteers who do the lion’s share of the work in any community facility. The Erickson Skating Rink board is grateful to everyone who has helped out during the year and for the Winter Carnival especially. It was a big undertaking and came off without a hitch.

Future of the rink

“I think the immediate future of this rink is in outside rentals,” said Greavett. “This will keep it alive for when the interest and need [for a rink] is back in this community.”

Local interest in using this facility is growing slowly but steadily. The elementary school uses the rink once a week, and Tuesday night shinny has been a big success. But with only one hockey team to give it full time support, it will take some outside rentals to keep the rink afloat. The board is working on a few marketing strategies but has to fit that in between maintenance and programming projects as well. The board is small and effective so if anyone out there is looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the community, you are invited to contact a board member and attend a meeting.