Pony rides and sand castle competition returns to Rolling into Rivers

The community of Riverdale is bringing back its Rolling into Rivers festival next weekend, with family activities such as sand castle building competitions and pony rides.

The weekend festival starts July 3 and will run until the afternoon of July 5. A number of locations around Rivers will host a variety of activities, including barbecues, a parade, bouncy castles and kids activities, a car show, an auction, a community market, archery demonstrations, live music, a beer garden, fireworks, tractor rides, a turkey shoot, “Little Obie” train rides and a paddle derby.

Kim Richardson, owner of Lucky Break Ranch and Tack, is one of many community members who are sponsoring the event this year. She told the Sun it’s a way for her ranch to reciprocate.

“It’s our way to give back,” she said. “Just being part of the community, and showing our pride for Rivers.”

Richardson said the community depends on this type of back-and-fourth, which is why she feels it important to stay involved.

“Without the community, we wouldn’t exist either, so we need to support each other,” she said. “This is our way of doing it, giving kids something to do for free.”

The ranch will transport at least three ponies over to the Rivers and Area Game and Fish Association for rides, she said. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 4.

It’s the second year the pony rides will be offered as part of the festivities.

Rolling into Rivers started in 2023 when the Train Station Restoration Committee wanted to celebrate the community’s history and 110th anniversary. The committee hosted a meeting and brought together 20 different groups to put together a weekend of events.

“The weekend was a huge hit, as all the community became involved,” Train Station Restoration Committee chair Donna Morken said. “That event became the impetus for the now annual Rolling Into Rivers weekend.”

The festival’s name was drawn from a desire to incorporate the community’s history of Sekine bicycle wheels, its train wheels and airplane wheels, Morken said. Mayor Heather Lamb came up with that title, which is now carrying forward another year.

Mayor Heather Lamb told the Sun that the municipality is adding sand on location at Rivers Provincial Park for the sand castle building contest, which will have judges and different age categories, including a kids and family categories. The contest registration starts at 1 p.m. on July 5.

Little Obie train rides are scheduled between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on July 5, with a break for lunch. The rides start at the CN Hotel. The rides were “probably the biggest hit” when they were part of the festival last year, Lamb said.

The Rolling into Rivers parade is set to line up at 9:30 a.m. and kick off at 10 a.m on July 4 from Rivers Elementary School.

The festival’s fireworks are scheduled for dusk on July 4 at Millennium Park.

The car show, auction, community market and live band and beer garden will be hosted at the Rivers Legion.

Second Avenue in Rivers will be closed on July 4 between Quebec Street and Main Street to facilitate the event.

For more information, visit riversdaly.ca/news.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com