Organizers are working hard to attract people to the beach during Sea Fair weekend.
Powell River’s 52nd Annual Sea Fair includes re-imagined versions of old favourites, and something for the whole family from young to old.
“This year, Sea Fair is really focusing on drawing people down to Willingdon Beach,” said event organizer Jenny Garden.
To make it easy for people to get down to the beach, Garden said the City of Powell River is running a shuttle between Town Centre Mall and Willingdon.
“It’s a no-brainer,” said Garden. “So people don’t have to worry about crowds or finding a parking spot, they can park up at the mall and then ride the shuttle down to the beach.”
Holding the treasure hunt during Sea Fair, rather than over the weeks leading up to the festival, is part of the plan to keep people at the beach. This year the hunt takes place on Sea Fair Friday, July 24, with individuals and teams following clues like breadcrumbs in the hopes of finding the treasure.
“This way the hunt is more a part of Sea Fair itself,” said Garden. “We’ve never done it like this before, but in years previous it has gotten competitive.”
In order to keep things to chance Garden said treasure hunt competitors will not be given the same clues, but will follow a divergent set of leads to discover the treasure—which this year includes Sea Fair and Powell River dollars, two round-trip tickets on Pacific Coastal Airlines for Vancouver and a midway ride pass.
This year’s Sea Fair also includes expanded Sunday activities following the traditional pancake breakfast. The so-called Pow Town Games will see four intergenerational teams vie for supremacy in a series of fun, family-friendly games, such as sack races or three-legged races ending in a final tug of war between top teams for town domination.
“We might even divide teams according to neighbourhood and see who wins, for instance Townsite versus Westview,” said Garden.
Sea Fair fun continues in the expanded Beer Fair. In the shade of tall trees at Willingdon Beach this year’s brews include seven beers and a cider on tap from four breweries, as well as an exclusive preview of Townsite Brewing’s Blackberry Ale.
“We basically want you to show up on Friday and enjoy all the events until Sunday,” said Garden.
This year’s Sea Fair runs Friday, July 24, to Sunday, July 26, at Willingdon Beach. For more information readers can go to the festival website.
