Soap box derby thrilled crowd: The umbrella-covered crowds at the third annual soap box derby stuck it out through the downpour to see the races come to a finish.
“The crowd stuck right to the last, which was nice for the kids,” said Gayle Pirie, who spent the evening calling out the drivers’ names from the tractor trailer which propped up the ramp.
“It would have been nice to have a few more kids,” said Blake Pirie, who organized this year’s race through the Shawville-Clarendon Fire Department.
Erin Dittburner described the feeling of being in the race. “Down the ramp, I can’t steer, but after that I’m good,” she said.
Daniel Frost had some control problems on the ramp in the finals for the modified car class, giving Becky Tracy a good lead.
The winners and runners-up each received a medal and the municipality of Shawville provided each participant with a pin and a Canadian flag.
Flotilla bigger this year: The largest-ever boat parade at Davidson kicked off Mansfield’s Canada Day celebrations.
This year about 80 boats gathered at Davidson wharf for the parade down the Ottawa River to Amyotte Park in Fort Coulonge.
Boaters from Waltham, Davidson, Fort Coulonge, Campbell’s Bay and other parts of Pontiac gathered in pontoon boats, speed-boats, fishing boats and sea doos for the parade.
MP Robert Bertrand and Mansfield Councillor Ricky Romain wished the boaters and the crowds on the wharf a happy Canada Day.
Caldwell notes by Hermonie Sharpe: Thursday night, sixteen tables of euchre players sat down in the exhibition hall for a real evening of fun and entertainment. Players came from all over: Bryson, Starks Corners, Quyon, Bristol, etc. This was a good way for everyone to get together and celebrate the millennium.
Canada Day is over for another year and there was a good crowd attending the festivities, enjoying the parade and later that night, the lovely display of fireworks. Congratulations Shawville, it was all well organized and all the ones responsible along with their helpers deserve a great deal of credit.