LITTLE CURRENT—The Little Current Lions Club will be taking a well-deserved rest following another successful Haweater Weekend held the Civic Holiday Weekend but will soon reconvene to start planning next year’s, the 53rd annual.
Lion President Bruce Burnett was still working on all things Haw when The Expositor caught up him last Friday.
“How was the weekend?” this newspaper asked.
“I’m glad it’s over!” came the response.
All jokes aside, Lion Bruce was ecstatic with the weekend, citing large crowds for all of the events.
“I would like to thank all the sponsors, who really came forward this year, and that includes the Province of Ontario, which really gave us a boost with $20,000,” Lion Bruce said, noting that the provincial funds helped offset the cost of the famed Sunday night fireworks display, ‘Thunder Over the Channel.’
It was a new pyrotechnician working on the Haweater fireworks this year and the Lions Club president said he was in awe of the beauty of the Island. His signature—a finale ‘fake out’—delighted the Sunday night audience when they thought the fireworks was over with a grand finale-style display in the middle of the sequence.
And crowds there were.
“The cardboard boat race must have had 200 people there to watch on its 20th annual, and the Hawfest was up this year too with about 650 people in attendance,” he said.
The Lions were a little disappointed in the midway numbers and are thinking of alternative locations for next year, should they come back to Haweater.
“The bass derby (SCB Huron Bass Classic Haweater Open) was unbelievable and a great addition to the weekend,” Lion Bruce added. “The size of those fish they were bringing in!”
The Thursday Shock N’ Haw wrestling shows also got rave reviews and has organizer Paul Wright already thinking about next year’s event, possibly even with an expansion.
“This year was really good,” he added. “There were a lot more people than we’ve seen in a long time.”
Lion Bruce had high praise for the many volunteers who helped make the event a reality.
“From the setup on Friday to filling coolers, they came from all over, even Midland, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and more and the student volunteers who helped at the ballfield were terrific.”
“A big thank you to the Town of NEMI and its employees for working so hard the week of Haweater to make the town look so good to welcome all the visitors,” Lion Bruce added.
