The town of Ponoka hosted its fifth annual Day in the Park at the Lions Centennial Park. The event was about to see a record-breaking amount of people when heavy downpour temporarily interrupted the activities.

“We’ve had about 700 people through the park today this afternoon… It was looking really, really, really good it was looking like we were going to break our record but rain obviously has a dampening on that.”

The inclement weather threatened to interrupt and even cancel some of the activities.

“This is our fifth annual Day in the Park so we had a bunch of fun kid’s activities—Bouncy castles, there was live music, a barbecue, and there might still be fireworks and an outdoor movie but we’re playing that by ear right now. This weather looks like it might be settling in,” said Andrew Jones, administrative support for community services.

The rain only ended up canceling the town’s scheduled band Tap 9 but the fireworks and outdoor movie were later determined to continue on.

Visitors also had the opportunity to dunk Mayor Rick Bonnett, and other Ponoka ‘celebs’ in a dunk tank.  

Despite the unlucky weather, Jones admits that the people of Ponoka really appreciate events like this and that it is their persistence that kept it running through the rain.

“It takes a lot of people in the community to make this happen and we’re out here trooping in the rain and we’re still making it happen and making sure people get fed.”

In the end, Day in the Park was a success even with inclement weather and is sure to bring in even more people next year.