With all of the events planned, the volunteers prepared and sponsor support in place, all that the Buster Days Committee can do now is pray for the weather to cooperate. The annual community event will take place from June 1-3 and will have something for everyone to enjoy.
Family Swim Night will kick things off on Friday night from 5pm to 7pm. The cost to attend is $15 (maximum of 5 people), which includes a slice of pizza for each person. This is a new addition, and will be held in place of Family Night at the MAP. The fun-filled event will include balloon twisting and a DJ. Following this, the Youth Swim Night will take place from 7pm-9pm for ages 10-18 and will include swimming, pizza and a DJ for 45/person. Both events may be moved to Saturday, depending on weather.
Friday night will also include the ever-popular Slo-Pitch tournament, which will run in the Kinsmen Ball Diamonds throughout the weekend. This year, instead of the Party in the Park, there will be a 19+ Kinsmen Club Cabaret held at the Sports Centre that will feature the bands Rock Candy and Men Without Shame. Doors open at 6pm and admission at the door is $10/person. All proceeds from this event will go towards the Martensville & District Kinsmen Club. The first night of Buster Days will end with everyone looking to the sky to watch in awe at the incredible fireworks display that takes place each year. If Friday weather does not cooperate, the fireworks will be moved to Saturday.
Saturday will have a wide variety of options available for all ages such as; a pancake breakfast and car show from 8am-10pm, Fitness in the Park, a shinny tournament, and much more. The streets are sure to be packed for the annual parade, which will take place at 11am and will run on the North Side of Martensville this year running from Main Street – 1st Avenue North – 3rd Street North – 5th Avenue North. There will also be a grand opening for the Kyle Syrenne Skatepark taking place from 1pm to 3:30pm with an official ribbon cutting as well as demonstrations being done by professionals.
Sunday will feature a football tournament at Geransky Field from 10am-5pm, a Church Service from 11am-12pm, Family Picnic and Bingo from 12pm-1pm, and more.
Both Saturday and Sunday will have a variety of food trucks available from 12pm-6pm, carnival games, inflatables, face painting and many more activities located at the MAP. “We try to bring in a variety of things so that everyone can find something they enjoy,” City of Martensville Program Coordinator II, Karly Russin explained.
A new addition to the weekend activities is the FireFit Challenge, which will take place at the Sports Centre on Saturday and Sunday from 12pm-5pm. This event will bring competitors from all over Saskatchewan, as well as other provinces to compete in one of the most difficult challenges imaginable. Known as the “toughest two minutes in sports”, those competing have been training for months in preparation for this event. “I am really looking forward to this event. It is a different form of entertainment than what we have had in previous years and I feel like it will bring out a different crowd,” said Russin. Members of our own Martensville Fire Department will be participating, so be sure to come out and cheer them on!
This year, the Buster Days Committee has planned for a backup location at the Martensville Athletic Pavilion for the inflatables in case of unfavorable weather conditions. “Each year we learn from the last, and with the wind that we had last year, we were unable to utilize the inflatables. This year, we wanted to ensure that there would be no issue with people purchasing a weekend ticket and not being able to take part in everything we had to offer,” Russin added. “It is going to be a fun filled weekend, we are hoping for good weather, but with the backup location in place, we are really confident that we are going to have a really great weekend!”
Wristbands can be pre-purchased at the MAP for $35 and will gain you two full days of access to all that Buster Days has to offer. All activities for the weekend will take place, unless otherwise specified on the poster located on page 12.
Russin also wanted to thank all of the sponsors that contributed to this community event; Innovative Piling Solutions Ltd., North Prairie Developments Ltd., North Ridge Development Corp., DC trenching Ltd., Kinsmen Club and Saskatchewan Lotteries. “We have been really fortunate to have consistent sponsors that help us each year. This event would not happen without them. We are also really thankful for the volunteers that have offered their time to come out and help over the weekend, including many of the local service groups,” Russin said.
For anyone that wants to get involved with planning Buster Days, the committee is always looking for new volunteers to come on board. Those interested, can contact Karly Russin at specialevents@martensville.ca.
