July 1st celebrations were a plenty, with organized fun at Kenosee, White Bear Lake, and Manor, just to name a few.
Kisbey also celebrated Canada Day, but they did not stop there. Though the event was the 2nd Annual Kisbey Volunteer Fire Department Barbeque, they celebrated not only July 1st and the achievements of the Fire Department, but revealed the winners of this year's MAK Attack as well as the recent successes of the Kisbey Play Park Committee.
The celebrations were held at the Kisbey Rec Centre with bouncy castles, games, music, and face painting. Here the Fire Department was looking to raise funds for general costs of running the department according to Fire Chief, Rob Cobb.
Many people of all ages were in attendance, enjoying the BBQ, games, and music.
Also found amongst those enjoying Kisbey was a STARS representative who provided information on the emergency helicopter, which has made a great difference in the area since its inaugural Saskatchewan flight last year.
During the celebrations awards were given out to volunteer firefighters for their years of work. Amongst these recipients was Calvin Nankivell, who is the longest serving volunteer firefighter in Kisbey, currently in his 40th year of volunteering.
"There are one or two people in the community who can always be found making it better and this man is one of them," John Vouture explained of Nankivell.
Rounds of applause erupted upon hearing of Nankivell's dedication to the community. Nankivell is currently mayor of Kisbey and was joined by the play park's committee chair, Amber Curtis in breaking ground for the new structure which will be here at the end of August.
Having raised nearly $40,000 the community is excited for the new structure following a storm two years ago, which destroyed the previous play park.
"We've needed it for a very long time," Curtis explained. "Here it will be centrally located and offer a safe place for kids to play."
"Away from the truck route too," Nankivell added. "It's great for the town, which has been growing and our campground is right here too. The Community Centre always tends to be busy with events and kids are always out there on the old set of swings. They play out there all the time."
The final announcement made that day included the winner of MAK Attack. MAK Attack is an annual competition that has been held between the towns of Manor, Arcola, and Kisbey for many years. The focus of the competition is to determine which one was most beautiful that year. Last year Manor was unable to participate as they had not yet recovered from the flooding the year before.
This year MAK Attack lost both Manor and Arcola, so not wanting the tradition to completely die Kisbey held the competition between the north side of town and the south side of town. Manor and Arcola were both unable to participate as each one has new administrators who are still working at becoming settled in their positions.
In the end it was the south side of Kisbey that prevailed following assessments.
Overall the day was a great success and as Nankivell explained, the day rested mostly on the shoulders of Cobb and Vouture who organized the day.
Ultimately Cobb says his vision for the July 1st celebrations, which are being established in Kisbey will become even larger.
"The ultimate goal is to get the fairgrounds going again... a Ferris wheel and all those types of things is the big one," Cobb stated. "Whether it happens in a couple years or in 20 years that's my ultimate goal with our Canada Day celebrations."
