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Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 105 Issue 14
www.tofieldmerc.com
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 s
Tofield Winterfest blessed with warm weather and huge community participation John Mather Staff Reporter
While no doubt the warm weather helped, large crowds came out to line Tofield streets for the Christmas parade and the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the evening of Nov. 26. Councillor Norm Martineau, standing in for Tofield Mayor Deb. Dueck, along with Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook and Santa Claus welcomed the crowd to the Christmas tree lighting following the parade. “I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and I hope you were able to attend some of the many activities going on in town today,” said Martineau. “We had everything from Breakfast with Santa, to Stuff the Bus and the Western Makers Market. We have the family dance happening very soon and then the fireworks display. “And with that I’d like to, on behalf of the Town of Tofield, wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” “On behalf of Beaver County, welcome,” added Smook. He nodded to Santa Claus and said he had had a busy day. Santa we’re hoping when you come through Tofield you don’t forget to come through Beaver County.” “Absolutely,” said Santa. A countdown was then held and the large Christmas tree adjacent to the town office erupted into a blaze of Christmas lights. Earlier in the day at the Tofield Museum, kids gathered to do a variety of crafts. “We have kids making Christmas decorations, decorating Christmas cookies, writing letters to Santa Claus, making Christmas globes and making holiday bookmarks,” said Tracey Boast Radley, executive director of the Tofield/Beaver County West FCSS, organizer of the event. “Pre-Covid, Festival of Trees was a regular event, so we were excited to be back in person along with our partners
Santa Claus discusses good versus evil with the Grinch as they met in the lobby of the Tofield Community Hall during the Winterfest Family Dance held at the hall following the Christmas tree lighting at the town office. Photo by Lisa Kuflay who included the Town of Tofield, Beaver County, Tofield/Beaver County West FCSS, Beaver County Victim Services, Beaver County Community Adult Learning Program, and Camrose Family Resource Centre,” she added. “This year, we hosted at the Beaverhill Mu-
seum and Nature Centre so in addition to our partner staff and volunteers, the museum also had volunteers on site.” She said about 120 people stopped to vote on the small number of Festival of Trees entries. She said many also took the opportunity to stroll through
Tofield’s well laid-out museum and view the displays that proudly show the development of the community and its surrounding area. As people left, they could help themselves to hot chocolate and every child received an activity grab bag. The winners of the Festival of Trees will be announced later this week. At Tofield IGA the Stuff the Bus campaign raised both funds and bags of groceries for the Tofield Food Bank. The organizers did something a little different this year, said volunteer Brenda Clark. In addition to accepting dry goods, residents were able to make financial donations at a table set up in the lobby of the store. At the Tofield Community Hall large crowds came out to the second Western Makers Market. “Last year was the first year I organized it,” said Tally McLaren from Tofield. “It’s just something I had always wanted to do.” She added it’s going to become a regular part of Winterfest. “We have vendors from all around the province, “said McLaren. “Many I’ve known were local but we’ve got vendors and people coming from Wandering River, Evansburg and Hinton.” She said the crowds were very steady throughout the day. “We have 39 vendors today and we have a waiting list for vendors wanting to come out and take part.” Winterfest got going in full on Nov.25, when the Tofield 4-H Beef and Multi Club hosted its annual Turkey Bingo. “We had chairs for 220 people and about a dozen remained empty,” said organizer Kari Cameron. Cameron added that the Turkey Bingo has been an annual event for the club for almost 60 years. In 2014, she said they aligned it with the Winterfest. Prior to the start of the small fundraiser, club members gathered on the stage at the Community Hall to recite the 4-H pledge. Picture Pages 4/21