by KELLY FRIESEN
Journal editor
The Summer Sizzler prevailed through poor weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, this past weekend in Humboldt. The annual event saw the community come together to take part in its wide range of events.
"All things considered, weather wise, we couldn't be happier with how it went," said Mike Ulriksen, the City of Humboldt events manager and the Sizzler's main organizer. "I thought it went really well and was happy to see so many people come out to it."
For the most part, the attendance stood strong. A large number of adults took in the cabaret and there was no shortage of kids running around.
"We were happy with the attendance in general," said Ulriksen. "We had 415 come to the cabaret and 85 kids showed up to the bike safety course in the first 15 minutes and they received free helmets. The Saskatchewan Express performances down in the arena also went really well. We had quite a number of people take those in."
Ulriksen went on to compare this year's attendance to the 2013 Summer Sizzler.
"All around, I think it's very comparable to last year," he said. "Last year we didn't have any rain on the days of the events, but we had a lot of rain leading up to it. There may have been a bit more people last year because of the better weather, but I still think it's comparable. I think all in all we had similar numbers coming through the doors."
The rain did leave a notable mark on the Sizzler, though. The organizers were forced to cancel and alter some events because of it.
"There were a couple of things we had to move around and change and a couple things we had to cancel like the petting zoo, pony rides and the pancake breakfast on Saturday morning," said Ulriksen. "But other than that, everything went according to plan and according to schedule."
It seemed the ever-popular demolition derby wouldn't be able to make it through the rain. It, however, toughed out the poor weather and went on to become one of the Sizzler's most successful events.
"The demolition derby shouldn't have gone with all of that rain, but they put in a lot of effort and made it work; it was a huge success," said the City's events manager.
The timing of the heavy rain ultimately couldn't have been any worse for the parade. There was heavy downfall roughly an hour before the parade started and the rain continued throughout the event.
"The rain definitely affected the parade, but it still went ahead," said Ulriksen. "We got hit with downpour right before the start of the parade, but we were already out there and the parade worked through the rain. Some people in the parade said they couldn't believe how many people were out watching it because of the rain. So all in all, I think it went pretty well."
Not even a day after the 2014 Summer Sizzler wrapped up, the City is already looking ahead at next year. The community wants the popular event to continue to take strides forward.
"We are already planning and looking forward to next year," said Ulriksen. "We are going to change some things for next year to continue to try to improve it. We encourage people to give us their feedback on what they liked and didn't like. We want to look at every way we can to improve it."
