Eganville – If you’re looking for some family-fun activities during the March Break, Eganville is definitely the place to be.
Bonnechere Valley (BV) Township is partnering with the Bonnechere Museum and support from other organizations to host the inaugural March Break Madness from Friday, March 10 through Sunday, March 19.
Event convenor BV Councillor Tracey Sanderson explained the celebration a collaboration between the museum and the township, with the museum supplying the funding and the township providing in-kind donations. Other organizations participating are the Curling Club, the Bonnechere Union Public Library, the Echo Centre, the Rotary Club, and Legion.
Planning started back in November and she and friend, Kayla Desjardins, and BV economic development officer, Dana Bartlett, have been busy reaching out to get other local organizations involved.
“It was a very quick event and we are trying to introduce some things that are a little crazy. If you look at the Sunday (March 12), we’ve got a gaming truck . . . we’ve hired like three transport truck trailers coming in for gaming.
“It’s like a party bus that you’d hire for a kids’ party,” she added. “It’s got virtual reality, AI stuff, racing things.”
Another new event that day is ice bumper cars, which are similar to the standard bumper cars, but on the ice at the arena.
“Our focus on Saturday (March 11) is down near the museum and Sunday, it’s all at the arena,” she noted. “There’s a couple of scavenger hunts taking place Sunday that will be through town.”
“It’s amazing the list of things we have,” she added.
The program also includes some other locations like Shaw Woods, where Nordic pole trekking will be held, the Deacon Escarpment for hiking, and Dacre Mountain.
There will be entertainment and dances for the youth and adults at different venues, people can try curling, go for a horse and wagon ride, play pool at the Legion, go skating or play euchre. There will also be opportunities to come together as a community at the bonfire at Rotary Beach or the Winter Be Gone event at the library. There’s a pancake breakfast in the Eagles Nest, the Legion supper, the Lucky Lunch at the Echo Centre, or the Beavertails pop-up trailer. Participants can also learn how to make Ukrainian eggs or join a painting class.
The majority of events hosted at the community centre and BUPL are free while the Rotary breakfast and Legion supper will have the usual fees.
There is an artisan market on the first Saturday (March 11) at the museum from 1 to 4 and O’Kenny Spirits will be on site with some samplings.
“And I’ve just reached out to the Ottawa Valley Food Co-op’s Farm to Fork and they will be helping us out with food,” Ms. Sanderson said.
“We’ve reached out to everybody working with Dana and the township and we got input from everybody who is hosting things,” she said. “That’s why we’ve created such an inclusive schedule.”
She said it’s been a very heartwarming, interesting and fun experience putting it all together and seeing the co-operation that exists in the community.
“The point of this is, we’re breaking out of COVID and people want to have some fun. That’s why we put some interesting things in here,” she said. “There’s something for everyone. It’s not catered to just one demographic.”
The final Saturday of the festival will feature the Winter Be Gone costume parade through the streets of Eganville organized by the library and Studio Dreamshare from Pembroke.
See this week’s edition of the Leader for the full schedule of events.
