The Trews play to a large crowd on the first night of Funtastic 2024 in Vernon (Funtastic Sports Society photo/Facebook)

By Liam Verster

115 teams

Weather not an issue for Funtastic ball games, concerts

Jul 2, 2024 | 12:30 PM

Despite the sporadic weather, the annual Funtastic slo-pitch tournament and music festival in Vernon went off without a hitch.

That’s according to Jamie Austin, president of the Funtastic Sports Society.

“Wednesday was a little crazy with the set up when we had the big windstorm, but we managed to get through that and we had a whole bunch of teams and a whole bunch of people come up and support us,” Austin told Vernon Matters, adding the games and concerts weren’t affected by the weather.

“It was great ball weather, first and foremost, everyone loved that. It was nice that they weren’t baking in 35 degree weather.”

A total of 115 ball teams took part in the four-day event.

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The organizers didn’t have ticket sale figures for the concerts as of time of publication, but Austin said they were “very well supported Friday and Saturday night,” adding “Sunday is usually a slow night for us, but there was still a decent turnout in the beverage garden for that.”

Through the event, Funtastic was also able to hand out community grants to three local organizations.

Austin said the society provided the 2024 Esso Cup with $5,000, the Lumby Swim Club with approximately $4,800, and the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre with just over $3,700.

The society leader said the community support is very important.

“It’s fun for us to see the smiling faces, it’s fun for us to see everyone having a great time up here, and it makes it extra special when we give back to non-profits in our community. Without the support of the individuals in the Vernon area and the surrounding area to come out and help us, we would never be able to give money back through our grant program, and it’s key to us, that’s why we run and that’s why we do this, to be able to give back to the community,” Austin remarked.