Memories of Leamington's Fun-A-Rama

By C. Scott Holland

Over the course of three hot days in late June 1980, the second annual Leamington Fun-A-Rama was held and its main event was the Anything Goes competition.

The organizers, Danny Bateman and John Paterson, thought it went smoothly, especially since the six competitions over Saturday and Sunday were completed by 2 pm. The weekend at the Leamington Fairgrounds was highlighted by a concert on Friday night by the popular local band Nemesis and concluded on Sunday night with a fireworks show.

It was originally hoped that 150 teams (each team composed of 5 members) would participate but getting 81 teams and over 400 entered was still good to fill the three categories of junior, intermediate and senior.

A competitor loses his balance in the mud slide and gets a mud bath for his effort.

Photo from the C. Scott Holland Collection

Both Paterson and Bateman looked forward to organizing the 1981 event. Recreation department member Peggy Harrison thought some changes would be implemented and one of those could be a noon start on Friday.

One of the event’s major issues was its finances. A portion of the money from the dance, beer tent, and $1 from the car parking fees (charged only for the Sunday night fireworks show) went to help defray the event’s costs. It was estimated that 3,000 people attended the fireworks, which cost roughly $100 per minute for the 35 minute show.

Helping to offset the costs were three donations from local businesses.

Local band ‘Nemesis’ played the Friday night stage at the 1980 Fun-O-Rama.

Photo from the C. Scott Holland Collection