The rainy weather did not stop children and parents from enjoying a sleigh ride. The rides were courtesy of Gary Scharf. Morin photo

The Great Arjunin gave a magical performance at the carnival. Here he had the help of William Armstrong to do one of his magic tricks. Morin photo

GREELY – Rainy weather and warm temperatures did little to discourage Greely and area residents from taking part in their annual winter carnival.

The four-day event was the 49th winter carnival. It was put on by the Greely Community Association (GCA).

The carnival got underway on Thurs., Jan. 23 with a family night. Friday featured games for all ages and Saturday kicked off with a breakfast cooked up by the Greely firefighters’ Station 93.

Following breakfast there was a community bonfire, hockey game between the firefighters and the Ottawa Police Sheraffs. There was also a horse-drawn sleigh cour­tesy of Gary Scharf and public skating.

Later Saturday evening there was a dinner and comedy show at the community centre. The Greely Lions served up a family brunch on Sunday.

Doug Thompson is the president of the Greely Community Association. He is gearing up for the carnival’s anniversary in 2020. “We are looking at our 50th year,” said Thompson.

“We would like to get more youth involved.”

The association is preparing special celebrations for the 50th anniversary, and is putting together a list of people that have contributed to the carnival over the past 49 years.

Recently, the group has been trying different ideas for their carnival. This year, for example, was the first year for the community bonfire.

“We are working hard to get the community enthusiastic about the carnival,” said Thompson.

The CGA is working to raise awareness about their organization and the Greely community.