The Altona Rhineland Emergency Services department is always busy when the Manitoba Sunflower Festival comes around in Altona and this year is no exception with a family fun event planned, the fan-favorite fire truck pull and the classic boot drive in the festival parade as well!
Family Fun Event
Department Chaplain Richard Bage and Firefighter Caden Krahn both stopped by the studio to share the details on the Family Fun Event they have planned for Thursday evening, "Thursday evening we are doing a family fun event, we want to kick off Festival weekend early!
That is going to be happening at Parkside School. We are going to set up right in front of the school. We're going to have all of our trucks out, we're going to have a lot of our equipment there. We're going to have a couple of charged fire hoses. So yeah, if you want to get inside a fire truck, if you want to feel what it's like to shoot off a hose. Thursday evening, Parkside school, that would be the place to be.
There's going to be another event happening there as well. Sun Valley Co-op is doing their movie night in the park. That's going to be starting at 7:45. So our hope is that, you know, come to Parkside school for 6:30, come play in the fire trucks, take some pictures. Then grab your family head over to the park and Sun Valley Co-op would love to host you at 7:45 for their movie night."
Parade Boot Drive
Richard and Caden touched on the long-standing tradition of the firefighter boot drive in the parade, "So this year, our department as a group decided a few places where that money should be distributed. We change it up every year, so all the money being raised from the parade, the firefighters walking around with the boot and the fire truck pull as well will be donated to the Firefighter Burn Fund and the Altona Empty Stocking Fund as well.
Bring cash, coins, anything, you got a little baggies full of coins you get from your grandparents every year, bring it all! We'll probably have about six guys walking the parade route. They're going to be the big, buff, good-looking guys carrying big black boots and yeah, like I said, you know, your change, couple dollar bills you got. Drop them in the boot. If you want to write a check, make it out to Altona firefighters."
Fire Truck Pull
Quickly becoming a beloved event at the Sunflower Festival, the Fire Truck Pull is back for another run this year as well, "Fire Truck Pull is on 10th Ave outside of the main entrance of the park. We get teams of six, two teams going at a time and then it's just essentially pull as hard as you can until someone tells you to stop and then it's kind of a bracket from there. Some people do companies, some people do just groups of friends, stuff like that. Grab your Bible study group, your fantasy football buddies, really doesn't matter who it is. Get 6 people together, come out and have a lot of fun"
- Registration for teams will be $150.00
- For more info or to register contact Caden Krahn at Altona Farm service (Caden@altonafarmservice.ca), Richard Bage or another ARES member.
Enjoy the full conversation between Department Chaplain Richard Bage, Firefighter Caden Krahn and CFAM Morning Show co-host Zack Driedger below: