Once again, the Virgil Business Association has delivered the spectacular Virgil Stampede, exciting attendees with new rides and services.
The Stampede, which has run for 58 years, ran Saturday through Monday at Centennial Sports Park, drawing an expectedly huge and jubilant crowd while raising $100,000 for Red Roof Retreat and Radiant Care’s Pleasant Manor Retirement Village.
Albion Amusements rolled out a fresh slate of carnival games, a rock-climbing wall, the Avalanche pendulum ride, bumper cars, a kids’ coaster and the classic merry-go-round. Only the Ferris wheel shut down briefly on Saturday when winds spiked and the Avalanche wasn’t running on Sunday.
“People have been very happy with the variety of things that we’ve brought this year and a little bit of a different layout,” said Albion owner-operator Carrie Robertson.
Kids dashed between free pony rides, face painting, reptile shows and knife-juggling sets at the kids pavilion, while world-famous Shane “Doo Doo the Clown” Farberman performed all three days.
“I’m doing three comedy shows a day and unlimited balloons for the kids, and I’m just excited to be here,” said Farberman, who is also known for his role in the Adam Sandler film Billy Madison.
“The kids have been waiting months for this, and they go crazy when the games open,” said Dominik Choquette-Lague, who’s worked at the Stampede game booths for the past seven years.
Ontario Ice Cream truck owner Joe Prajza was parked at the Stampede.
“It’s been fantastic. It’s been easy to work with everybody and get everything done,” said Prajza.
Red Roof Retreat volunteers took over the Mary Snider Room at the Meridian Credit Union Arena beside the carnival to host the annual nickel sale raffle.
“This has been a draw for locals since the beginning,” said volunteer Rob Burns.
Over at the food booths, volunteers were hard at work cooking up reasonably priced eats for carnival goers — a plate of onion rings for $4, generous portions of poutine fries for $6 and the always popular pork on a bun.
The Virgil Business Association has pledged the net proceeds from this year’s Stampede will go to the Red Roof Retreat and Pleasant Manor, which will each get $50,000 to fund facility upgrades.
No serious security problems occurred at the Stampede over the long weekend, though there were discussions about safety stemming from a fight that broke out in 2023 and the recent car attack at a festival in Vancouver on April 27.
“Anything can happen at these sorts of things, so you have to be prepared for any scenario, really,” said security guard Artist Harvard.
CJ’s Skatepark returned to NOTL on Victoria Day for a third year at Virgil Sports Park, lending boards and pads, running five-minute lessons and giving out prizes, including two new skateboards.
On Victoria Day, a shuttle service proved to be a big success at the Virgil Stampede, with more than 184 people using the service, easing parking headaches and earning quick praise from riders and organizers alike.
“This is the first year we’re running buses, so people don’t have to worry about being towed on Four Mile Creek,” said Sharon VanNoort, who directed people onto the shuttle from United Mennonite Church.
After a 10-minute ride, passengers were dropped off beside Meridian Credit Union Arena, in front of the main gate entrance to the Stampede.
“Every load had people on it, and mid-afternoon guests were very happy with the shuttle,” said VanNoort.
“We had people come, and then they decided they were going to go try and find a parking spot closer to the Stampede and then shortly they came back to use the shuttle because they couldn’t find a parking spot,” she added.
A second coach joined the loop at 9 p.m. to keep lines short and get everyone back to their cars safely.
The Stampede came to an end, as it has for the past 58 years, with fireworks over Centennial Sports Park at 9:30 p.m., enjoyed by a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.
