Greely Celebrates 50th Winter Carnival
The Greely Winter Carnival returned in a big way Jan. 26-29.
The 50th winter carnival was one of the best ever, from people braving the snowstorm on opening night for a family board game night, to a sold out kids’ glow dance the following night to a weekend full of activities.
“It was great to see everyone here,” said Osgoode Ward Councillor George Darouze. “There was a good turnout. The highlight of the weekend was the dinner and comedy club night.”
The line-ups were long for the Saturday morning pancake breakfast served up by the Greely Firefighters at the Greely Community Centre. Outside the community centre, there were line-ups for the sleigh rides through the park by Gary Scharfe and his Clydesdales. There were also Beavertails for sale.
“There is no need to go downtown for a Beavertail, we’ve got them right here,” said Linda Brayman, President of the Greely Community Association.
Brayman noticed the demographics had changed a bit in the community since the last winter carnival.
“There are a lot more young families with young children,” she said. “We had a lot more children under five than in recent years.”
While Dr Kaboom entertained the children during the breakfast, the stage belonged to local magician, the Great Arjunia, after the breakfast. Now 16, the Great Arjunia has been at the last couple of Greely Winter Carnivals. His first big magic show in front of a crowd was at the Greely Winter Carnival four years ago.
“It’s great to come back,” he said, adding that he is specializing I children’s shows. “I spent a lot of time during COVID learning and practicing. A lot of magicians did things on Zoom and there were a lot of opportunities to learn from some great magicians.”
