Visitors check out the artisian market on Canada Day in Polson Park, a new  feature at the event. (Vernon Matters photo)

By Pete McIntyre

155th birthday bash

‘An amazing day:’ Thousands attend Canada Day events in Vernon

Jul 4, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Thousands of people showed some love for their country at a busy Canada Day celebration at Polson Park in Vernon.

The local event has undergone some changes as a result of new members on the board of directors for the non-profit society that organizes it, and while there were a few issues, overall, it appeared the day went well and the new features, like the artisan market, were appreciated.

In-person events returned to Polson Park in Vernon for first time since 2019. (Vernon Matters photo)

Mayla Janzen from the organizing committee estimated between four and five thousand people came out during the day, which was supposed to run for about nine hours and ended up being about 12 hours.

“We had some technical difficulties with the music due to one piece of equipment not liking wifi and being digital, but we worked super hard all day to get music moving along,” Janzen told Vernon Matters.

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“We had to shift Andrew Allen forward on the schedule to make up for lost time, and he went up a bit later than expected, but everyone was patient and great. Seemed we had an extra rush of folks in the evening coming to see Andrew Allen play.”

The splash park and dunk tank at Polson Park were popular with kids. (Vernon Matters photo)

The water-related events proved popular, on the beautiful day, weather-wise.

“The dunk tank was great and the splash zone was super well received by kids,” Janzen remarked. “The canvas for the community art project also turned out great. The Baptists got us started with the inflatable slide and castle, and that had a huge line.”

The celebration incorporated the Polson Artisan Night Market at the site for the first time, allowing participants to check out arts and crafts, and sample foods and drinks from the vendors.

“Our vendors did great at the market and we had nothing but positive feedback, other than some congestion in parking,” said Janzen.

Janzen added the parking was a minor issue as people didn’t want to park in the overflow area.

“So even though we had lots of parking available, a lot of illegal parking happened and we did our best to handle it. The great news is we had zero security incidents and one minor injury all day.”

She says the eleven food trucks on site got a “shocking amount of business,” and seemed ready for it, as not many ran out of things.

The food vendors were busy on Canada Day, including lineups for ice cream and other items. (Vernon Matters photo)

The new Fruit Fest, featuring local growers and their products, also created some buzz.

“Folks were telling me they were coming down for free fruit, so word got out well about the new fruit fest idea, and we gave away $1,000 of strawberries in about two hours.

Other compliments went to the skate competition and the large dinosaur from the Okanagan Science Centre which a lot of people were taking pictures with.

The Okanagan Science Centre’s dinosaur created a roar in Polson Park. (Vernon Matters photo)

Janzen says the organizers tried to clean up as much of the park as they could after the event.

“We worked hard to clean the park as we went, and it looked good in the light [Sunday] morning. I know that was an issue in previous years.”

And after it was over, Janzen was pleased with how it went.

“Overall, an amazing day, [it] went smoothly with the exception of the music issues,” Janzen summed up.

The reaction to the event on social media was mostly positive, although several people felt there could have been more activities for children.

“The only kid thing was the water fight, which by the way, was awesome, but yes, that and the dunk tank was the only thing for [children], but for adults it was great. Really good vendors and a skate competition, of course, which is always great,” said one person on Facebook.

“….definitely not much for kids to do, it was a disappointment this town doesn’t have much/ enough stuff for kids to do,” another person stated.