LAC LA BICHE - Neil Timm has been seeing a lot of spinning plates in the air — but he's not interviewing juggling acts for this year's Summer Days events. The new president of the Pow Wow Days and Fish Derby Association that is behind the annual summer event is doing his own juggling act - to organize the August long-weekend celebration during a very busy construction season in the Lac La Biche area.
Municipal plans to shut-down the McArhur Park and the Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds in the next few months for a multi-million upgrade, as well as the construction start of the $31 million Main Street renovation project, have thrown a few wrenches into the planning stages for Summer Days. With about four months still to go before the annual community party that has been a staple of the region for more than 60 years, Timm says even the general question of, 'How's it going?' doesn't have a set answer yet.
"There's still a lot of things in the air right now — and any one of those things could change in the next few days ... or hours," he said with a laugh, but still confident the event will continue its long-standing history.
"We want to let the community know that we are going ahead. We want to get some exposure out now to let people know that despite all the challenges, we are going ahead," he said.
The Lac La Biche Summer Days event is slated for August 4-7 this year.
The midway rides, a slow-pitch tournament and the annual parade are the big events most affected by changes to their historic locations for the weekend.
Timm says that while there will be some adjustments due to the municipality's construction plans, the main features of the "crown jewel" event of the summer are in place.
"We're having pancake breakfasts, community fish fry, live music, fireworks — a ball tournament, a parade ... it's all there — it's just going to take some juggling around," he said.
The current plans for the construction start of the Lac La Biche Main Street project is now set for May of this year, with a section of the downtown's main corridor from 103 Street to 102 Street being blocked off. That is going to affect parade planning, says Timm. On the other side of the community, the area normally set aside for midway rides will also be part of a construction zone this summer as the municipality plans to use a portion of McArthur Park as a lay-down yard for equipment and materials needed to repair the shoreline erosion wall that is also getting repaired later this year. That shoreline work may also affect access to Churchill Drive along the lakeshore — another area historically used for the Summer Days parade.
"We've got some alternative plans — but we're still working on it all," said Timm.
Downtown rides?
One of those alternatives currently being tested is to move the midway events to the parking area south of Main Street near the downtown rail yard.
Timm says it may not be a perfect solution, but it keeps the activity in the downtown area. He says feedback so far from the local business community is positive for the summer celebration.
"This has always been a big draw for the business core. We want to do this to help the local businesses and bring more people to our community."
Timm and association members have been meeting with municipal officials to navigate some of the obstacles this year. He says the plan — for right now — is to do the best they can.
"We're going ahead. It might be as simple as possible in the end — but we want to do it."
This year's challenges from construction come on the heels of two years of obstacles created by the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as economic challenges. During those years, the association's past-president Lavon Fleming says event-planners relied heavily on the support of the community.
"It has been an ever-evolving process with the challenges of a soft economy, COVID-19, however, I'm thankful for financial strategic planning by past board members and the engagement of community groups," she said, encouraging more community members to get involved this year with the new board. "In order for any organization to grow it is imperative that new ideas are brought forward by having new blood."
Volunteers and new association members are always welcome to join the planning, says Timm. Information about this year's events and the organization can be found on the Summer Days social media pages.
