The Canadian Redneck Games here pretty much became the Wetneck Games, as the skies opened up on Saturday and finally forced the cancellation of some of that day’s events in the late afternoon.
“We got crazy weather and a ton of rain – and the tents were blowing down,” Minto Economic Development Officer Belinda Wick-Graham said on Monday, summing up a frustrating Saturday in Harriston.
Despite the rain, though, hundreds of people did make it to the event. Many huddled in tents until the rain let up at about 1pm.
The rain began just prior to the start of the main street parade, which kept crowds on the street to a minimum and allowed the kids who did attend to scoop up a larger than usual share of the candy that was tossed out by parade participants.
At the fairgrounds, pouring rain delayed the start of events by about a half hour, but that did not seem to bother people much.
Norm and Pat Harkness were standing inside a large tent, waiting like everyone else. The couple, from Alcona, near Barrie, was the target of every reporter at the event because they were dressed in coveralls and Redneck gear, including special hats with corks dangling from the brims.
Coming all the way to Harriston to find wet weather did not seem to bother them at all.
“It’s one of the things we can’t control,” said Pat Harkness.
Norm added, “It sounds like a fun day, though.”
One resident commented laconically, “Mother Nature is a redneck, too.”
And then came the announcement from the stage, “Welcome to the wettest, muddiest Redneck Games ever. Let’s get dirty.”
Officials then officially lit the “Olympic Toilet Bowl” on stage to start the games.
The rain stopped temporarily, and Wick-Graham noted that both West Coast Lumberjack shows were completed.
Kids, too, had a blast. They ran three-legged races, fished in a fish pond, had sack races and a beanbag toss, and a tug o’ war, as well as a special redneck game where they had to wade into a muddy pool and find a hockey puck with their bare feet. Meanwhile, there was a good turnout for the hubcap hurl.
Terry Heise, of Harriston, said he had been forced to go home and get some dry shoes, but he came back.
“There’s still a fair crowd that’s come out,” he said, adding, “I guess people are tired of rain this year.”
Jackie Browning was letting nothing stand in the way of her enjoyment of the event.
She and two girlfriends had travelled from London to get to the games, and thanks to a faulty internet map, it took them four hours to find Harriston.
“It’s not too shabby,” considering the weather,” Browning, 25, said of the event.
She had learned about the Redneck Games the previous year from a London Newspaper.
“Some guy from London had won the toilet seat toss and his picture was in the paper,” she said, adding, “It’s my birthday today, and this is what I wanted to do for my birthday.”
Jody Hastie, from Durham, said, “It’s my first time ever being here.” He had driven in from Durham with his girlfriend, and brought three children along, and they seemed to be having a ball.
“It’s pretty neat,” Hastie said. “This pigs’ feet thing [bobbing for pigs’ feet] might be kind of gross.”
Wick-Graham said the new event held Sunday, mud pit volleyball, attracted a good number of teams and was a success.
“We’re a little disappointed, but what can you do?” she said, noting that organizers are still cleaning up from the weekend.
