The Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association hosted their second annual Dundarave Hoedown on Friday August 26, and thousands of visitors enjoyed free pony rides, face painting, airbrush tattoos, sno cones and a straw maze.
Young kids and the young at heart dined on barbequed burgers, sausages, and hot dogs grilled up by the Tiddlycove Lions Club while a beer garden hosted by the West Vancouver Firefighters raised over $5000 for their charity. The Hoedown began back in the late 1980s by some local business owners in Dundarave. It continued for 20 years and was resurrected by the ADBIA last year, with help from of one of the founders and a few children of the founders.
“These ‘children’ are now adults with kids of their own and to have this come full circle and see another generation enjoy this great community event is truly wonderful,” says Maureen O’Brien, Executive Director of the ADBIA. “The street is closed to traffic from 1pm – 11pm and that has a big impact on our businesses, but they all support the event, setting up their own food stations or closing early to enjoy the fun,” she says.
“This is a major event for the ADBIA and made even better because of the support of our sponsors, MacLean Homes, Peake & Richmond Insurance, North Shore Smile Dentistry, British Pacific Properties, Pierwell Dundarave, Westerleigh Parc, Engels and Volkers, Chartwell Retirement, and Temper Pastry.”
One of the highlights of the Hoedown is the pie eating contest, hosted by The Bakehouse. O’Brien said, “It’s quite entertaining to watch kids and adults alike try to eat a blueberry pie hands free – it’s a real crowd pleaser. The line dancers were also a huge hit, and we are grateful to have had a group from the West Van Senior Centre come out and get the party started.”
The Dundarave Hoedown is a true community event – organized by a few committee members and with only a small handful of volunteers.
“Everyone that volunteered gave 110%”, said O’Brien. “We may not have had many volunteers but the 8 or 9 we did have worked hard to make sure the event went smoothly – from setting up the stage and tables at noon to cleaning up the very last piece of straw at midnight. Personally, I’ve not worked on an event that showed so much community spirit and brought out so many local families. The feedback received post event was overwhelming but there is one message we received from who wrote; “Thanks for the great community event! We invited some friends this year and as the evening wrapped up, my 7-year-old looked up at me saying longingly, ‘Dad, this is a night I’ll never forget.’”
“That’s all the inspiration we need to continue to work hard to make this event even better than last year, helping to create memories that will last a lifetime!” The Dundarave Hoedown 2024 will happen on August 23, 2024.
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