New Year’s party unexpectedly interrupted

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Regardless of an abrupt overflow of wastewater that caused those in attendance to evacuate and shut down the event an hour early, more than 500 patrons’ spirits weren’t dampened at the third annual Celebration of Lights New Year’s party – deemed to have been the most successful yet.
A frozen pipe caused the sewer to back up at the Livestock Pavilion shortly before 8 p.m. on Dec. 31. When the product emerged in the men’s bathroom and spread to the nearby stalls, those in attendance vacated the premises in time for the viewing of the fireworks.
“It happened to us one day last spring when a client was in there, and so it kind of hit us again,” said Herb McLane, general manager for the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society. “But the event was winding down. When it occurred, we were probably only half an hour away from the fireworks and so we just shut it down a little bit earlier.”
McLane, who missed the fireworks to deal with the issue, contacted EPCOR who checked out the problem, confirmed the ice blockage, and thawed it with a tiger torch, before running hot water through the pipe. While the event was shut down almost an hour earlier than expected, organizers said it was the most successful New Year’s party yet.
“It was unbelievable, and it was probably our best season so far in the eight years of the park,” said Rose Hamrlik, president of the Celebration of Lights Christmas Park.
“This was probably the most visitors we’ve had. Our third annual New Year’s party was a very great success. We probably had over 500 people in the Livestock Pavilion alone and a couple hundred on the grounds.”
Overall, the park – featuring the Celebration of Lights and the New Year’s party – experienced attendance numbers close to 2,000 mainly from surrounding areas. The New Year’s party included a magician, spin-to-win, raffles, a bigger dance contest, and lots of free food and drinks. With the popularity of the events increasing, McLane is aware the problem requires a permanent solution.
“Now it’s happened a couple times with clients and the public in there, we don’t want that to happen of course,” McLane added. “I think there are some remedial measures we can hopefully make. Maybe some insulation, that’s been discussed, perhaps some hot wiring at the critical points, those kinds of things.
“I think we’ll come up with a solution and try to mitigate it from happening again. I think everyone had a great time and the fireworks were grand I understand.”