Sand Bay’s annual Fun Day event returned to the beach community Saturday and Sunday, bringing together families and friends in a celebration of community spirit.
The weekend of mildly competitive games and challenges, this year organized by Stacey Thomson, has been a staple in the community for over half a century.
“We’ve been doing this for, I think, over 60 years,” said Thomson. “Everyone from two-year-olds to grandparents participates, and it has always been a way for us to connect, celebrate, and have fun.”
This year’s events included classic games for children, such as sack races, wheelbarrow races, and a triathlon for those aged 14 years or older, all by the beach to make the most of the summer heat. Saturday evening brought a performance from The Reg Carkner Band, performing on a large trailer for a stage in the Sand Bay ballpark.
The weekend also featured an event titled The Amazing Race on Sunday, a relatively new addition to the weekend lineup which has quickly become a crowd favorite according to Thomson. The event holds a tradition where the winners of the previous race are responsible for organizing the following race. Last year’s winners were the Jones family.
“It’s all part of the spin-off of the Fun Day, and it was added a few years ago just to get some adults or older children, too, that weren’t able to participate any longer in the Fun Day.” said Angela Jones, one of the organizers.
The race took place all over the Sand Bay area, starting racers at the ballpark and taking them through the town, down to the beach, and back to the ballpark.
Thomson explained the race used to allow golf carts and vehicles, but decided to make the race exclusively on foot this year as an added challenge.
The scorching weather was also taken into account for the race. Water stations were set up for competitors and the race included a challenge involving water to give racers a chance to cool off during the summer heat wave.
“With the heat wave, we’ve had to consider that we can’t exhaust people either, so we had to think of the map out of the events, and also, to add in trivia,” Jones said. “Most of the physical movement will be going from station to station.”
Teams received fanny packs with clues and embarked on a series of tasks that included assembling jigsaw puzzles, participating in a basketball shooting challenge, and digging for dinosaur eggs buried on the beach.
The Sand Bay Ballers team took first place, winning the grand prize of $50.
The weekend of fun closed with a sandcastle building competition by the beach, with Audrey Templeton, Dominic Smiley, Charlotte Smiley, Ashlyn Cyrene, Emily Kerr, and Anna Templeton winning first place with their two-seater sandbus.
