By all accounts, the 50th Goose Festival in the Town of Kindersley was a success. 

Things kicked off on Thursday with some events and supper options available downtown, and then Thursday saw much of the same along with the beginning of the Heavy Horse Pull that continued into the weekend.

That was one of the many events that saw Country 104 and Classic Hits Radio on hand:

Classic Hits host Devin Brown was live at the Horse Pull after he so graciously took off the media badge, and put on a volunteer hat to assist with the Goose Festival parade. While he was helping, the rest of the West Central Online team hit the streets to celebrate:

ParadeIt's always nice to see the streets of Kindersley flooded with smiling faces (Find link to a full gallery at the bottom of the page)

The weather was even fantastic for the day, as Executive Director of the Kindersley Chamber Kevin Martin talked about some of his favourite parts from Saturday specifically.

"Two years in a row now we have gotten really good weather," started Martin, "Everything went so nice for the Goose Festival, I'm so happy. The crowds were awesome. Somebody had put on social media this morning 'thanks for the parade', and I said thanks, but I am just the conductor of the band and without the (people) it doesn't mean anything. I said thank you, but I mean this is for everybody, not just me. I'm just the guy with the baton telling you it's time to go."

That doesn't just go for the volunteers involved with each and every facet of the weekend. He more than appreciates all of the supporters for the Goose Festival parade each and every year, and was very impressed with what he saw for the 50th edition. The food trucks were so popular that they often suffered from long lines, and Martin had an inside scoop as to why on one particular spot. 

"I'm sure they all did well. I know one place had run out of food, twice!" he laughed.

After the parade wrapped up on Saturday, the car show downtown attracted quite a few eyes according to Martin.

"The car show really was awesome. Some cool looking cars, trucks, and snowmobiles... a lot of people were really kind of fawning over those vehicles. It had a lot of interest, and it kept a lot of people downtown."

Some other things Martin had to mention from Saturday that weren't taking place downtown was an educational setup from the Kindersley Fire Department at the East Crossing Mall in Kindersley. Setting that up around the mall helped out businesses tremendously, as Martin talked about the various sidewalk sales going on, and then also the fact that some stores were so packed inside that people were having to take a raincheck on their shopping.

"Some of the shoppers decided to come back yesterday because they just couldn't handle all of the people in the store. That's how crazy it was," he laughed. 

For his own fun Martin mentioned that he made it out to the Jr. Klippers game, and could hear the fun of the dance carrying into their space from the curling rink next door.

"That was definitely good too," he said of the Sr. Klippers hosted event that featured live music from the Whisky Boyz.

Martin is no doubt eager to see the Goose Festival plan executed to perfection every year, but the inevitable hiccups along the way certainly give him reason to relax with the big weekend now past him and the Chamber. The next big thing on the list is their AGM set for early 2023, but Martin noted the folks with the Chamber aren't quite done with 2022 yet. 

Even though the fun times were concentrated around Main Street in Kindersley, many people left the busy area to catch some sports.

Flatlanders Speedway held their season ending two-day event this weekend, but before drivers started their engines west of Kindersley, it was the KCS Kobras high school senior football team putting on a show inside of town.

footballHome fans were treated to a big game from the Kobras as they defeated the Kerrobert Rebels 71-14 in an offensive explosion

Then focusing on the races, the bleachers were jam-packed for the Saturday afternoon start as they got ready for the big show set-up by competitor, and Flatlanders Track President Jason Hankewich.

Sunday's races were just as big of a hit when it comes to fanfare, as we checked in with Hankewich to follow up on the action.

"The Legends and the Sprints came in, we had a great turnout. We had 72 total cars, and it was really really good. Happy with the turnout, happy with the show," said Hankewich, who shared he won the points for the Legends division along with competing in his classic #49 street stock.

He also talked about how the races were held in memory of their longtime announcer, Howie.

HowieLongtime Flatlanders fans may have noticed the absence of their longtime announcer these past few years, as Howie was honoured by his Kindersley racing family this past weekend

"We respected the fact that he was with us for so long. With his passing, we wanted to respect him, so we had a nice big four-wide salute. The drivers got stickers, we had the nice banner there. It all worked out well."

Howie was the announcer for a few different west central tracks in Outlook, and the now retired Rosetown, and he loved coming out to Kindersley after being recruited by the original Flatlanders crew. Howie knew the drivers inside and out, adding a factor to the race that will long be remembered.

FlatlandersThe Extreme Sprint class was a big hit for fans

Even if you didn't get out for any Goose Festival fun this weekend, the fact that an extra weekend of summer seemed to carry over is the only cause needed for celebration in some parts of West Central.