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PHOTOS: Thousands attend March Into Spring

Mayor Maureen Pinkney already planning next year’s event

March Into Spring’s community events in 100 Mile attracted roughly 3,500 participants over the weekend of March 24.

100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney said it is hard to express how proud she is of the community, especially the volunteers who made the event a reality. The support the volunteers received in kind from the community was fantastic, with Pinkney noting that they only expected 2,000 people to attend.

“Every business (I talked to) raved about how good an event it was. They all had people that had never been to their venues before,” she said. “It was so friendly and cheerful and it really was marching into spring. You couldn’t have asked for such a bright and sunny day, inside and out.”

Seeing so many people come out to participate was amazing, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson said. Doerkson came down to help judge the Easter Bonnet contest at What’s Hoppening in the 100 Mile Community Hall. He said 100 Mile residents had a great weekend, and praised the District for using their Commemorate Canada grant to fund so many free events.

“The South Cariboo is really benefiting from the efforts of the District of 100 Mile House council, which has done an amazing job,” Doerkson said. “To see the community hall packed wall to wall with smiling faces has been an amazing thing to see.”

Coun. Donna Barnett led a team of volunteers who organized What’s Hoppening, which proved incredibly popular with families. Barnett said they gave out over 500 passports to children, which she said means they had between 1,200 to 1,500 people come through the doors.

“Everybody had fun, it’s been awesome. All the volunteers have been amazing. Without them, you can forget this (being possible),” she said.

Local resident Jelina McLean attended What’s Hoppening with her children, and later took in the 100 Mile Variety Show. McLean said events like March Into Spring are a big part of why she loves living in 100 Mile House.

“It’s great that the community did this all for free,” McLean said. “I think it’s amazing that everyone got involved in this and I hope it happens every year.”

Barnett said that the bowling lane and movie theatre were booked solid and the free pickleball lessons at Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School had a line of people waiting to get in. She encourages people to keep on going out to community events like this when they happen.

“The more you support them, the more we’ll get innovative and do more things. If you’ve got an idea call the District. We’re always willing to do what we can to make the community more vibrant,” Barnett said.

In the future, McLean said she’d like to see March Into Spring make a return with even more community events. As the owner of Raising the Barre Academy of Dance, she says she would be happy to offer free dance lessons for children.

Pinkney said the District is already considering how they could make the event an annual one. She noted the format may change in the future, as they won’t have the same grant funding. However, she is committed to making it a “spectacular weekend event.”

“We started off with something amazing (the Canucks Alumni game), and the last event (the 100 Mile Variety Show) was super fantastic as well,” Pinkney said. “This is what small communities are about, and if you’re new to town I’m sure you saw how wonderful and friendly the community is.”



patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net

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Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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