The rain may have dampened fun on the amusement rides, but luckily the Bike Rodeo and Safety Day was dry and warm inside the curling rink.
Although turnout was smaller than last year, the event still managed to draw in about 500 people. BHP Billiton Canada, who partnered with Safe Communities Humboldt & Area to sponsor the event, gave out 115 free helmets to the children that showed up. Aside from the rodeo course during which kids learned proper hand signals from RCMP officers, there were also interactive stations such as the SaskPower Power to Grow tent and the Child Find Saskatchewan ID passport clinic for kids.
“People were amazed at how we had so much more going on than what they thought it would be,” said Tracey Shewciw, executive director for Safe Communities. “The kids were happy and the parents were happy. It was great.”
The bike rodeo isn’t just about children learning safe practices while on their bicycles; it also includes stations about safety that change from year to year. For example, this year there was an interactive presentation about germs and the Humboldt Fire Department taught kids about what to do in case of a fire. There was a dark tunnel kids could crawl through to illustrate how they should crawl when escaping a burning facility to avoid smoke inhalation.
“This was our first time. We just thought it was a little bike rodeo and they go through the course and learn all the hand signals,” said Dave Atamanchuk, who was in attendance with his 10-year-old son, Nolan. “That was great, but to see all the other stuff was just awesome.”
Mayor Malcolm Eaton was also on hand to greet students and other fire department, RCMP, and EMS representatives. As usual, the event went from noon on Saturday until 3 p.m. The event was also graced with a surprise visit from the Saskatchewan Roughriders drum line.
“It speaks volumes as to the type of community this is that the mayor was there to greet children as they came through,” said Chris Ryder, head of corporate affairs for BHP. “It’s also because of the parents that the kids were there. They were very supportive and encouraging and you could see they care very deeply about the safety of their children.”
