Masset is all ready to host another spectacular Harbour Days weekend, the annual event that kicks off the festival season on the islands.
This year's Harbour Days features three fun-filled days Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with no events scheduled on the holiday Monday in order to give everyone a day to recover!
New this year is the chainsaw carving competition, which will take place all weekend at the seaplane base. Three professional chainsaw carvers from Campbell River will be on hand to demonstrate their skills and help out novices, said Masset economic development coordinator Shirley Kricheldorf.
Ms Kricheldorf said Campbell River has been hosting a similar competition since 1996 which now attracts 15,000 spectators.
Anyone is welcome to enter, she said, even those who have never carved anything. "Just bring your chainsaw, and come and learn," she said. In addition to the chance to learn a new skill (chainsaw carvings can fetch $2,000 to $5,000 each), there are cash and merchandise prizes for the winners. Weyerhaeuser has donated the logs which will be carved during the competition, Ms Kricheldorf said. Call her at 626-3955 if you want to enter or want more information about this event.
Meanwhile, Harbour Days committee chair Mary Frick and a group of dedicated volunteers are busy getting ready for the big weekend and crossing their fingers for good weather.
The complete schedule of events is in the centre pages of this week's Observer. Some of the highlights are an all-islands soccer tournament taking place on the playfield Saturday and Sunday, both an adult and a juniors golf tournament, the always-popular pony rides and motorcycle rides, and a triathlon on Sunday which is sure to attract some top-quality competition.
Ms Frick is also trying to arrange to get a dunk tank up to Masset for Sunday afternoon, although at press time she wasn't sure if the tank would be there. If the tank does arrive, Ms Frick said, the first person up for dunking is long-time volunteer Jack Thorgeirson.
Saturday night there will be a concert at G.M. Dawson school with the visiting high school band from Calgary. The village will present its entrepreneur of the year and citizen of the year awards during the concert, as well as a special BC Ruby Award.
The Calgary high school students were especially excited to hear that they will be eating a pre-concert spaghetti dinner at the famous Haidabucks Cafe, Ms Frick said. The band leader told her that the students have all heard about Haidabucks and its fight against coffee giant Starbucks over its name.
You can watch for Ms Frick as the Harbour Days parade winds through town starting at 1 pm Sunday - she'll be the one leading not one, but TWO llamas.
"I'm just hoping that everything goes great, and everybody has a wonderful time up here," Ms Frick said.