MOUNT FOREST – Planning committee members are licking their wounds and nursing their voices after a busy and intense weekend, but overall they are delighted with the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce July 14 to 17 on the grounds by the community centre.
Sharon Wenger, chair of the festival committee, said on July 19 organizers are still going over the numbers, but she suspects about 20,000 people came out over the four-day event – more than the usual 15,000 they used to see – and there might be a small financial surplus that will be rolled into next year’s festival.
“It was a great success,” she said, adding it was frustrating the festival had to be put on hold during the pandemic.
“That’s why it was so important to us that this year’s festival would be special.”
And special it was. Not only was it the first festival since the pandemic, it was the 20th anniversary of the fireworks festival.
There were new activities in the Kids Zone, the Krusher stunt team was also new this year, and the axe throwing booth that has always been off and on over the years, was on this time around.
And the fireworks – “it was quite the show,” Wenger said.
There was a mini fireworks display on July 15, but on the 16th, organizers pulled out all the stops.
“There was 21-and-a-half minutes of music (with coordinating fireworks). I think they were the best we’ve ever seen,” she said.
The event required the dedication of some 300 volunteers, “and although we are all tired and sore, every one of the fireworks festival committee members had a huge smile on their face throughout the weekend because we saw so many familiar faces and new faces who all had one thing in common: joy.”
The committee welcomes feedback and suggestions for next year’s festival. Comments are welcome on its Facebook page.
