Rosy-cheeked kids gathered in front of a homemade theatre in Campbell’s Bay Saturday afternoon for the return of what has become a crowd favourite at the town’s annual winter carnival – the puppet show.
In the yard outside Les maisons des jeunes, Campbell’s Bay councillor Josey Bouchard crouched behind the curtain acting out the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The crowd of about 15 giggled throughout the performance. Councillor Stéphanie Hébert-Shea, also on the organizing committee for the carnival, said that the puppet show is one of the things they do to make their carnival unique.

“For the last three carnivals, we’re also been offering a puppet show, both in English and French, to kind of add a little bit more a cultural aspect,” Hébert-Shea said.

As the puppet show wrapped up, the kids gathered in line for the carnival’s other crowd-pleaser – maple taffy.

“We did it last year and it was a huge hit, so we’re going to do it again this year,” Hébert-Shea said.

Throughout the morning, maple syrup had been heating up to be served after a free lunch of hot dogs and chilli. A sled was packed full of fresh snow ready to be covered in steaming syrup which would then be rolled up around popsicle sticks.

The annual carnival is organized by the municipality, and Hébert-Shea said that everyone is involved in some way.

“It’s typically an all-hands-on-deck kind of event,” she said. “Most of our council will be helping out, whether it’s making hot dogs or serving hot chocolate or putting on our puppet show.”

Throughout the event, there was also skating, a puck shooting contest, snow painting with coloured water, and sledding.

“It’s really an opportunity for us to come outside and get together, which is not something that we typically get to do in winter months,” Hébert-Shea said. “A lot of us tend to hibernate or travel in the wintertime, and this is a nice moment to reconnect midway through the season with everybody.”