With the 2001 Edition of Valley East Days scheduled to
take place August 16 to 19, residents of this community will soon be
tested as to how they respond to change. Valley East Days have
traditionally been held the first weekend after Labour Day, however,
this year’s organizing committee decided to do things differently this
time around. On top of this, the events will run a total of four days
instead of the usual three. Everything begins with a Family Day at
Festival Farms on Thursday, August 16. Also on that day, the Valley East
Golf Tournament will be played at the Clearview Golf Club. Everything is
rounded off with a spaghetti dinner and Euchre tournament beginning at 5
p.m. at the Centennial Arena.
Friday features an all day BBQ being held in three locations: at
Moncions, the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre and M & M’s in Val
Caron. A Children’s parade will begin at 1 p.m from the Hanmer Mall
where there will be a host of games for the children.
In the evening, the teens and the adults will share Centennial Arena.
The Teens will be upstairs from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight dancing to music
by Fran and witnessing the crowning of the Valley East Days King and
Queen. While this is happening, the adults will be enjoying a Karaoke
and Pub Night of their own from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.. What a way to bring
the family together. Parents and their teens can go to the dance in the
same car. And guess who is driving home?
Saturday begins with a Pancake breakfast sponsored by the Valley East
Scouts at Centennial Arena followed by a Trade Show which will include a
baking contest, corn roast, garage sale and entertainment. A Pre-Teen
dance will take place during the afternoon followed by a Barn Dance with
live entertainment (on the stage not on the floor) for the adults at 8
p.m.
After breakfast Sunday, the traditional Valley East Days parade will
begin at 12 p.m. and will travel all the way from the Val Est Mall in
Val Caron to the Centennial Arena in Hanmer where the big event of the
day will be a Car Show.
The organizers have done their best to bring the Valley East Days
celebrations into the community and tie the different sectors of the
town together. The theme of the event, "Experience Our
Heritage" is definitely coming out in the planning.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we will see if Valley
East residents are indeed creatures of habit. Will they respond well to
the change of date? Will we turn out to support this new format? Based
on my 27 years living in Valley East, I don’t think the organizers
have anything to worry about. Valley East Days 2001 should be just as
big and just as successful as ever. Just you wait and see!
