The rain held off for most of the day Saturday, brining people from across the district to Emo for its annual “Spring Fever Days” celebrations, which ran Thursday through Saturday.
“It seems like it was really busy all over town,” noted Emo Chamber of Commerce president Colleen Vennechenko.
“And the weather co-operated—it didn’t rain until about 3:30 p.m. so we had a really good day [on Saturday],” she added.
There was an array of activities, events, and sales for people of all ages to enjoy.
Each day of the festivities saw the Tompkins Hardware boat show at their store and the Nestor Falls Marine boat show at the Emo-La Vallee Arena.
“There were so many people in here you couldn’t even walk around,” Char Hyatt of Tompkins Hardware said Monday.
Also at the arena were representatives from Hagen Log Homes and Lilac Hill Woodworks, who were displaying their products, and a book, hotdog, and pop sale sponsored by the Emo Public Library.
Members of the Emo Water Park committee also were on hand at the arena with tickets for a 50” Plasma HDTV and Home Theatre Surround Sound system.
Proceeds from the draw are going toward the building of a water spray structure at the Lions Park.
While they sold plenty of tickets during Spring Fever Day, they still are available.
Meanwhile, the Emo handi-van and Emo Walleye Classic raffle tickets also were on sale over the weekend, offering more than $25,000 in prizes.
A flea market and bake sale was held at Knox United Church in Emo both Friday and Saturday, selling items such as clothing, toys, books, kitchenware, electronics, and appliances.
“It did extremely well, I understand,” said Vennechenko. “They got rid of a lot of stuff and made some money.”
Saturday—the busiest of “Spring Fever Days”—began with a pancake and sausage breakfast at the Christian Reformed Church in Emo, sponsored by the 316 Kids Club.
Then more than a dozen participants took off running—or walking—in the five-km “Fun Run” from the Rejuvenate Fitness Club. Ian Friesen and Lincoln Dunn each finished the course first in their age categories.
Owner Gaydonna Baker also was celebrating her first anniversary and showing off her recently-expanded fitness club, which now houses some new equipment.
Over at the Emo Inn, there were many discounts in their Country Treasures Gift Shop, which is closing its doors.
A Mary Kay representative was on hand there, as well as local Arbonne consultants Diana Redford and Kayla Caul demonstrating their spa products.
And there were plenty of crafts available at the annual “Crafts Galore” sale at the Emo Legion.
For lunch, there were a few menus to choose from (aside from the local restaurants). A hotdog sale and car wash was held at Cloverleaf by the Fort Frances High School graduation committee, DeGagne Equipment staff were offering up hamburgers, and the Emo rec council was serving chili on Front Street.
To work off lunch, there was the poker walkabout and a Family Fun Day to participate in.
Seth Judson of Emo placed first in the poker walkabout, followed by Colleen Cross and Larry Jack (also of Emo).
The Family Fun Day was held at the local curling club, where children enjoyed watching “Charlotte’s Web,” getting their faces painted, snacking on hotdogs, fruit, and veggies, playing games, and participating in an outdoor scavenger hunt.
Meanwhile, over at Cloverleaf, they were celebrating their 75th anniversary with a cake cutting and distributing pieces to customers. And the Whiskeyjack Carvers, with guest Rick Jensen from Minnesota, worked on some folk art pieces at Richard Veldhuisen’s workshop.
The 10th-annual “Cuts for Cancer” event at the Hair and Body Care Shoppe took place all day, but the head shaving began at 3 p.m.
The first four participants—the grandsons of Pam Carlson—went under the razor just before the rain began and the spectacle had to be moved indoors.
In total, 14 people had their head shaves and through pledges and haircuts that day, about $10,000 was raised. Proceeds are going to Carlson and Barb Forbes.
Then the $1,000 in Emo gift certificates were drawn at the Nestor Falls Marine boat show, with David Galusha of Fort Frances taking home $500 in certificates.
Heather Ogilvie of Fort Frances and Jo-Anne Griffiths of Emo each won $250.
Winner for other prizes on Saturday included Mel Jack (a birdhouse from Hagen Log Home), Gary Domanski (marine tool set from Nestor Falls Marine), and Jessica Haw (zip-ski water tube from Nestor Falls Marine).
Kim Jo Bliss, June Bonot, Jessica Allan, Zach Judson, Earl Tweedie, Greg Hartlin, Kalin Greenier, and Terrell Hyatt all won prizes from Tompkins Hardware.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
