There was a great turnout for the Firemen’s Pancake Breakfast at the Chesterville Winter Carnival that was held on Jan. 27 at the Chesterville Legion. People were able to socialize while enjoying a delicious pancake breakfast. From the left: Kent Merkley, Sean Donovan and Lyssa Dupont serve up breakfast to Isabelle Lalonde. See page 3 for the full article.   Thompson Goddard Photo

CHESTERVILLE – After an absence of four years, the Chesterville Winter Carnival returned to this North Dundas community, and thanks to the work of Shelley McLeod, Natasha Hall, Sabrina Chevalier and Nicki Van’t Foort there was plenty to enjoy.

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 434 in Chesterville was a beehive of winter carnival activities beginning with a Wing Night on January 26, which was followed by a well attended darts tournament. Throughout the carnival a silent auction was held, with many bidding on a variety of great products donated by local businesses and people.

On Saturday morning a carnival pancake breakfast was held in the Legion and organized by the Station 4 Firefighters Association. “The sausages and pancakes are fantastic as always!” commented SDSG MP Eric Duncan, who continued to say how the event is “a good local tradition in the town.” A steady stream of people enjoyed an opportunity to socialize, enjoy a delicious breakfast and support the carnival committee and the Station 4 Firefighters Association.  During the event Taylor Monteith was crowned Snowflake Prince and Lena Hutchinson, Snowflake Princess, with each receiving a gift bag.

Afternoon carnival events included a Euchre Tournament which was organized by the Chesterville Legion and was very well attended.  Next door at the Chesterville arena, spectators were able to watch a hockey game between the North Dundas Rockets and Paugan Falls Rapids.  Christ Church United held their carnival ham and scalloped potato dinner which drew over 110 people to enjoy either a dine-in or take-out meal.  The North Dundas Rockets returned to ice again in the early evening to face off against the South Dundas Lions, while at the Legion the carnival dance featured Great Scott, an AC/DC cover band.

The final event of the 2024 Chesterville Winter Carnival was the Kids Character Dance, with music supplied by DJ Daren Nurse and facepainting provided by Barb Buchanan from The Wild Rooster.  There was a great turnout of youngsters and their parents and grandparents during the dance which featured spot dance prizes, a candy table and of course several favourite characters.  There was a lot of excitement when Anna, Elsa, Baby Shark, a Minion and Winnie the Pooh joined the group on the dance floor.

On behalf of the carnival committee, McLeod wished to thank those who supported the 2024 Winter Carnival and those who volunteered, and suggested to those wishing to volunteer at next year’s carnival to contact her.  She mentioned how they were very happy with the attendance at the events.

A big thank you from our community must be extended to the volunteers and committee members for a job well done in getting the carnival back after an absence of four years.  Looking forward to Chesterville Winter Carnival 2025.