by PAUL RAYNER

Organizers of Boissevain’s festival weekend are hoping the constantly fluctuating forecasts move the right direction for the next few days.

July 27-30 are the dates for the Turtle Island Festival and Metisville in Boissevain. The weather forecasts for the weekend have bounced around. On Monday, both Saturday and Sunday forecasts were well over 30 degrees Celsius with high humidex ratings (a combination of heat and humidity predicting how temperatures would “feel”). As the week wore down, there were changes, but every time there was a drop, there was later a bounce up.

By Thursday, July 26, the Weather Network web site was calling for 28 degrees on Friday, dropping to 25 degrees on Saturday, and back up to 30 degrees on Sunday. Environment Canada was similar, although their Saturday forecast was up to 28.

Turtle Island Festival co-chair Jack Fuller felt heat, like rain, could have an effect on event attendance.

“If it gets really hot,” Fuller stated, “it will probably make a difference. People tend to stay home. They’re saying it will not be as hot as they said initially, a little cooler. We’re hoping it doesn’t go up.”

If temperatures do not soar too much, some events can adjust. For example, the entertainment in the festival is primarily located in a rented tent. This includes the Saturday children’s performers like Karlheinz the Bubbleman and Lulu and the Tomcat, as well as the winners of Boissevain Idol. The featured entertainment, tribute artist Robert Larrabee, comes on that evening. Reasonably warmth can be handled.

“In the tent, we can lift up the sides and let any breeze that’s there in. It has worked other years. But it doesn’t work if it’s 35 degrees.”

Other events that could be affected by high temperatures include the turtle races and the giant parade on Saturday. One big one is the Darbie’s Demolition Derby on Sunday at 1 p.m. Run by the Smith family for the benefit of Robbie and Darlene Smith, Fuller said an event in the middle of the afternoon with hot engines might be hurt.

“If it’s that hot, it could affect that a lot.”

If things heat up, the shadows of Tommy Turtle might not be too helpful on the south end of town. With concerts, jigging and outdoor markets, Metisville will be in a similar situation regarding weather.

Keeping Saturday in particular cool could be very important for one Turtle Island event. The third annual Family Fun Run/Walk is scheduled to begin at the Kinsmen Park at 11:30 a.m. Split into adult and youth categories; it obviously has different demands due to different age categories. The youth events go up to 1500 meters, while the adult run/walks are 5 or 10 kilometers.

According to Recreation Director Brent Littlejohn, weather can affect the event on two different levels. For one, it can impact on participation. He said traditionally about 30% of entries come in on the day of the event.

“If it is too hot,” Littlejohn explained, “it could hurt registration. Temperatures can deter people from participating. You want any event to be a pleasurable experience and an event like this, it can take the pleasure out if it is too hot.”

He said the exposure to the weather is not too bad for the kids, if they wear sunscreen and a hat, as it is over quickly. However, the adult events are considerably longer, and that is where temperature really plays a role.

“You can bear with it too a point, but if it’s too hot, it is a problem.”

Littlejohn added, however, that there are strategies to keep your motor running when combining a physical event and high temperatures. For example, keeping one's fluid intake going is important. Water stations are available along the route of the run/walk, which helps this. Even so, if the temperatures rise, he suggested keeping a bottle of water or sport drink with the participant for use in between. Avoid caffeinated drinks as they tend to dehydrate. Also, it is best to have smaller amounts of liquid more often than large amounts at once.

On the track, he said cramps are not too common, but can happen to some. If the temps are high, and a participant starts feeling the effects, the idea is to slow down the activity until feeling better.

“If you become uncomfortable, you change your activity right away, walk instead of run, or stop altogether, until you feel better. In depends how you feel. Make sure you take the break at the water station.”

The preferred start time for an event like this would have been a little earlier in the morning, but the Lions parade had to be avoided. However, it does miss the peak temperatures of mid afternoon.

However, all of the weekend events might miss major heat. Forecasts continue to fluctuate. At the same time, one must keep in mind, the somewhat cooler temperatures predicted for late in the week have been changed, and perhaps simply pushed over to the weekend, to be spiked later. Like all events in Manitoba, these this weekend are slaves to sudden changes.

Fuller said there are also positive signs regarding high temperatures. He said Taffy’s Inflatable Toys, which will be available for the kids on Saturday, had just been in Virden and the proprietor stated it was not hurt by the heat there. Also, a traditional Boissevain event was always able to survive the heat.

“The Turtle Derby always used to be hot,” said Fuller, a past president of the Derby, “and in the good days it did not make a difference. There were people all over the place. Even the turtles didn’t seem to mind. That’s the truth. People didn’t seem to be bothered by the heat. Hopefully, everything will work out.”