CARLYLE -
Carlyle Mayor Jennifer Sedor believes Carlyle Fun Dayz has become the “big little festival,” one that people of all ages in the southeast region can enjoy.
The fifth edition of the event was held Saturday on the town’s Main Street, with activities beginning early in the morning and continuing until the overnight hours. While she didn’t have a tally for how many people turned out, since the activities were free, Sedor believes at least 3,000 people flocked to Main Street for the bash.
“We had so many people out,” said Sedor. “We had businesses doing great. We had vendors selling out of food. We had lineups for the kids’ stuff. Our entertainers had such a great time. And the weather was absolutely perfect.”
The day kicked off with a pancake breakfast served by the Carlyle Lions Club. A parade delighted the large crowds that gathered. A family fun zone in the afternoon featured bouncy castles, bumper cars and games.
Food trucks were on site throughout the day. A balloon artist, a petting zoo and games were at the Carlyle Public Library. A trade show could be found in the Carlyle Town Hall.
A stage was set up on Main Street for live entertainment provided by Alex Runions, Tanya Ryan, Big Bad Storm, Micah Walbaum and Prairie Revolt.
“Our stage, our stage crew, our performers and our street dance at the end of the day were phenomenal,” said Sedor. “Everything about that part of the show just went off without a hitch. We had folks dancing well into the night.”
While the music ended at midnight, people were still eager to keep dancing.
“That’s always a good feeling, and you know you’ve done a good job when people are asking ‘Why are we packing up so soon?’” said Sedor, who noted she was dancing for several hours.
The diversity in the music offerings also proved to be a boost.
Acoustics were great, performers were thrilled and the crowd loved the music, she said.
New for this year was an expanded stage.
“Our goal for this year was to really test our layout on Main Street, to have the whole section blocked off. We had a lot more room, so we can add a lot more things for next year. And that stage just fits so beautifully on Main Street.”
Carlyle Fun Dayz is a growing festival, and Sedor looks forward to what they can do next year.
The only scheduled activity that didn’t happen was a Firefighter’s Rodeo, which was to occur in the morning and afternoon, and bring in teams from throughout the region. Sedor said it would have been a boost to have it, but with the early start to harvest, many of the firefighters from those small, rural communities have other commitments.
The rodeo has tentatively been rescheduled for Sept. 18.
“We’ll have another great event here in Carlyle, another reason for people to come back and see all that we have to offer,” said Sedor.
The Carlyle Fire Department was on site to show off their trucks and their gear.
Previous editions of Carlyle Fun Dayz hovered around 1,500 and 2,000 people for attendance, and Sedor could tell the crowds were bigger this year.
Weather conditions helped bring people in, she said. Carlyle Fun Dayz happened after several days of rain, and it was raining again on Sunday.
“We had a lot of folks in from the fields. They were shut down from … harvest that week, and were able to come in. We had the folks who had been waterlogged at the campgrounds come down. It just gave everybody something to do on the one sunny day for an entire week.”
People are still eager to get out and enjoy an activity now that restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted.
“Everyone is just excited to get out and do all sorts of stuff,” Sedor said.
There are always things that need to be tweaked for a festival of this size. And with the larger crowds than normal, the lineups were longer for activities and food trucks.
“I know that it was definitely one of the harder bits for people, too, especially with younger kids to have to wait,” said Sedor.
The mayor expects there will be more children’s activities next year, and they will run later into the day, so that everyone has a chance to have a good time.
Keeping everyone fed was also a challenge this year because they had so many people. But the reception to the food vendors was excellent.
Many of the attractions offered have received excellent feedback.
“Everyone did such a good job. There were lots of smiles and so many good things said,” she said.
The contributions of volunteers and sponsors helped make the event a success.
Sedor believes events like Carlyle Fun Dayz are vital to keeping the town vibrant.
“We need to make sure that we are playing on the regional and interprovincial stage for tourism. We need to make sure that people know where we’re located and what we have to offer so that we continue to be an economic hub, so that we continue to be a tourist hub, so that our businesses and our area in general continue to be viable, and so that we have a diverse set of things to offer the region.”
And if anyone out there wants to start a festival of their own for their community, Sedor believes it would be beneficial.
