Betsy Kline
Castlegar News
Sunny skies and enthusiastic crowds combined Saturday to make for a perfect day for Castlegar’s Spring Fling. This year marked the event’s tenth anniversary.
Much excitement surrounded the street hockey tournament. About 20 teams battled for first place and the Stanley Cup replica trophy that came with it. The final game came down to the Sixty-Niners and the Federations. It was a battle of youth versus experience and in the end, youth won.
After losing a game early on in the double elimination tournament, the Sixty-Niners worked their way up to the finals.
The first game of the final saw the Sixty-Niners win, but since the Federations were undefeated, they had to play a second game.
When the clock ran out on the second game, the teams were tied, resulting in a sudden-death situation.
The teenaged Sixty-Niners were the first to put a ball in the net and victory was secured for Ryan Anderson, Tanner Costa, Justin Demchuk, Jake Leplante and Gavin Kurenoff.
There was plenty for the kids to do, with 15 games set up as well as a bouncy castle and the ever-popular display of emergency vehicles. The inaugural Little Red Wagon race was a popular event with 50 participants.
Many people strolled through the booths while enjoying everything from the cotton candy to the southern barbecue offered by food vendors; all the while listening to the array of local talent performing on the stage.
Organizer Peter Laurie felt the day was a huge success.
“We are happy that we have been able to carry it on for ten years straight,” he said. “It is very much a grassroots thing. We do not operate off of much of a budget. We try to keep it all free. It is geared for kids and young families.”
He also expressed his appreciation for all of the volunteers that made the day possible.
“We had a really great turnout of volunteers from the high school this year. Also the community services youth program brought a lot of kids out.
“It’s really neat, it’s a good community thing that way. A lot of people volunteer and that’s what makes it happen. We’ve always thought it is good we can do these kind of things without a lot of money ... If people want to come forward and volunteer, we can do more of this kind of stuff in our community.”