When the return of the Rafferty Rumble was announced last year, there were a lot of high hopes for the type of event it could be.
After all, it wasn’t going to be just a street dance and a cabaret. The organizers wanted to have as many different organizations involved as possible, creating the type of summer festival that Estevan hasn’t seen in a long time, and a showcase of our amenities.
Perhaps the biggest questions were how well the community would support it, and if the organizers were trying to do too much.
Well, we certainly had the answer in terms of community support. Businesses and organizations showed they wanted the Rumble back with the sponsorship they provided.
The street fair in downtown Estevan was well-attended, with plenty to choose from. Crowds were especially large in the morning. The sports activities at Woodlawn Regional Park drew good crowds as well, and a few of the competitions were filled.
And the street dance on Saturday night attracted thousands of people, and would be classified as a hit by anyone’s standards.
It was great to see so much activity downtown. There have been events in downtown Estevan in the past that have had varying degrees of success. Street fairs and show and shines have had good attendance, but nothing like what we saw on Saturday.
We always hear people talking about trying to get more activity in downtown Estevan. We’re not the only community that has this issue with its downtown, and it’s particularly tough in a community like Estevan that has a spread-out commercial sector.
Hopefully the downtown merchants were happy with the weekend.
Sure, there was a lull in the afternoon prior to the street dance, which had to be a little disappointing, especially when you consider the talented performers on stage. But that’s likely to be expected. You can’t have large crowds throughout the day; eventually people will need a break.
(It didn’t help that temperatures exceeded 30 C during the afternoon, and that there was a Saskatchewan Roughriders game that started at 5 p.m.)
It was frustrating to hear that people were upset with the gate charge, or that they couldn’t use the front entrance of businesses without paying the gate fee. They seemed to forget they could always use the entrance off of the back alley.
Maybe they forgot that this was a fundraiser for the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, and that this was a community event, a community celebration, that was bringing in people from all over, and injecting money into the local economy.
As for whether the organizers were trying to do too much, you can’t deny they were ambitious. After all, there was a music festival, street fair, artisan vendors, sporting events and a show and shine, in addition to the street dance itself.
One tournament was cancelled, and a couple of associated events were scrapped, but overall, there was pretty good support for most of the activities.
They picked a tough weekend to have an event with a lot of sports. This is typically the weekend in which a lot of summer sports come to a close, including minor ball, summer speed swimming and the Saskota Baseball League.
But the sports competitions that were offered were still well-attended, and some had the maximum number of entries.
You’re also never going to find the perfect weekend that will appease everyone, especially in the summer.
And if you move an event around too many times, you just frustrate people.
One last encouraging sign was the behaviour of the crowd at the street dance. The Estevan Police Service reported few problems; most encouraging is there weren’t any reports of assaults, vandalism or impaired drivers.
Supporters did what they were supposed to do: go out and have a good time and find a safe way home.
The organizers of the Rumble will certainly reflect on this past weekend and look for ways to improve.
But overall, it was a fun weekend and a positive experience for anybody who attended. And it supported a great cause.
We hope the Rafferty Rumble will become a perennial showcase of Estevan.
