Christine Whelan FEO, December 15th, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 9

On Saturday, December 3, a Christmas event was planned for the community at the Fort Erie Racetrack. The weather, again, was not on our side. But Stephen Passero of Fort Erie Festivals said the team was going to make it happen, one way or another.

“In spite of the weather, the turnout was actually tremendous,” Passero remarked about that Saturday afternoon.

He shared about the concerning hours that started the day. “When I was out there at 4:00 am to start setting up, there was sleet and wind and I thought that maybe our team might be the only ones who show up,” he laughed. He can laugh now.

“It was iffy right up until noon. The rain did stop. The winds kept going. But in spite of the winds and the ominous forecast, everyone came out in full force and it turned out to be a fun afternoon for everybody who was involved. We estimated 1,000-1,200 people came out in the three hours.”

According to feedback, it was a good time.

“We had literally hundreds and hundreds of chocolates and prizes that we gave away to all the kids. There were a lot of things for all different age groups, adults included.

“We did have to make the tough decision to cancel the fireworks because of the wind but it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits because there were so many other things to do.”

History of the event

“This event has always been free to the community. For two years, we ran the event with Santa and fireworks at the racetrack. Then during the COVID times, we had to keep it as a parking lot event, where we brought Santa in and he and the fireworks were viewed from people’s cars. This year coming out of COVID, we thought we’d build on it a little bit.”

There were little touches that were added last minute this year like Santa coming in on his float. “This was not originally planned, but with the cancellation of the parade, we thought it might be nice to have him come in with his parade float. He was led by the Peacock School of Dance.

“And knowing that the parade had been cancelled, we were probably going to get a lot of different age groups coming to this event than we would have expected in previous years so we came up with additional games and activities to make sure that, whether they were one year old or fifteen years old, or even adult, that there was something to do for them.”

Passero added, “With the parade having to be cancelled, our team knew that one way or another, we had to pull this off. We brought many of our activities indoors. We needed to shift the locations of some things because we knew where the wind gusts would be coming from.”

Thanks

Fort Erie Festivals are thankful that the community came out to support the event, regardless of the weather.

Passero included with warm gratitude. “We want to thank the folks at the Fort Erie Racetrack for allowing us the use of the space and the building. And we also want to thank the two dozen volunteers who came out that day and dedicated their time and talent because if it wasn’t for them being a part of our team, we wouldn’t have been able to pull off as many things as we did.”

Looking Ahead

The group is already looking forward to planning things for next year.

“Anybody who wants to join our team and be a part of next year’s event, they are welcome to contact me.”  Stephen can be contacted at 905-871-9868.

It’s a wonderful way to get involved with the Fort Erie community. “We’re a volunteer group. We do this because we enjoy it and we’re always looking for other people to lend us a hand.

“Anybody who feels they might have something to contribute, please contact us.” They are always looking for sponsors.

You can learn more by searching Fort Erie Festivals online.