The 55th annual Squamish Days Loggers Sports is ready for five days full of action-packed events starting on Thursday (Aug. 2).
It all starts with the Into the Woods art exhibit opening soirée. This family-friendly event takes place at the Squamish Arts Council building and will feature local artists’ works inspired by Squamish’s logging heritage and surrounding forests. The free event will also showcase painting, sculptures, glasswork, photography and jewelry among others.
Things will pick up on Friday (Aug. 3) with the World Championship Chair Carve at the Squamish Station Mall. The annual event features skilled carvers creating chairs of all shapes and sizes, with all proceeds from the show going to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Squamish. Carvers will descend on the parking lot of the mall at 3 p.m., with final judging of the chairs occurring at 5 p.m.
Friday evening will be punctuated by the annual Bed Races. Teams of five will try their best to negotiate a two-block obstacle course on Cleveland Avenue, beginning at Pemberton Avenue and finishing at Victoria Street.
Saturday (Aug. 4) will be the busiest day of the weekend, with the popular Children’s Sports event kicking things off at its new venue at Pavilion Park at 9:30 a.m. All sorts of games and sports will take place, as well as a bike decorating competition and brand new for 2012 is the Best Dressed Sam contest. Kids are encouraged to dress up as Lumberjack Sam and the best will win a prize.
Also new for this year is the first-ever Hot on Your Heels ladies-only bike race. Check-in for the event takes place at the bottom of the Half Nelson trail, with the ride getting underway at 10 a.m. Check www.sorca.ca for more details.
The Loggers Sports athletes take centre stage on Saturday afternoon with the Novice and Intermediate show. Admission to the show is $2 for adults and $1 for seniors and children, with partial proceeds going to local charities. According to Loggers Sports spokesperson Amy Fast, this year’s show should be one of the biggest in recent memory.
“It’s probably going to be one of our bigger shows that we’ve had in the last few years,” she said, noting this year’s entry list is the largest since 2008. “We’ve got over 50 competitors on each day and a lot of local people on Saturday.”
Saturday will see 22 local competitors and 12 brand new athletes make their debuts. The youngest local competitor will be Wyatt Cardiff, 9, who will take part in the log roll. Other local competitors include: Allan Carson, Marie Grindlay, Cliff Miller and Jesse Bifano.
The Squamish Days Axe Throw Invitational highlights Saturday night, with 30 entrants tossing axes at Chances Casino for prizes and bragging rights starting at 6 p.m. After the axe throw, everyone is invited to the Rock Bar and Grill at Chances for the Lumberjack Stomp.
Sunday (Aug. 5) will kick off with the 10K run and Flashback Mile, both starting at Howe Sound Secondary School. For more details on both races, visit www.squamishdays.ca.
The annual parade takes place Sunday at 11 a.m. in downtown Squamish, starting at Vancouver Street and goes all the way down Cleveland Avenue until the Bank of Montreal.
The big boys are up next at the World Class Open Loggers Sports show taking place at 1:30 p.m. Fast noted that there will be competitors from Australia, New Zealand and all over the U.S. There will also be six local women competing in the day’s Jill and Jill Double Buck event. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors.
The five-day event finishes off on Monday (Aug. 6) with the Squamish Car Club Show ‘N Shine. Car enthusiasts are encouraged to head to Cleveland Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to check out some classic rides.
For more information on Squamish Days, visit www.squamishdays.ca.
