Some kid shrieked, 鈥淭he ponies are here!鈥� and that little voice seemed to ricochet through the noise of the DJ and past the yelps coming from the dunk tank where a soaking boy was being subjected to the precision throws of his baseball team into the ears of every child attending Saturday鈥檚 Celebrating Mount Pleasant festival.
A tiny pony named Pumpkin appeared from the horse trailer with a slightly larger pony named Truck, mother of Tonka who was busy with children at a birthday party in Coquitlam, and were led across the gravel sports field at Mount Pleasant elementary school to start work. 聽
A lineup had already formed at the side of the field; all followed the same script when it was their turn 鈥� rider鈥檚 hands clutched the horn of the saddle, one parent鈥檚 arm around the rider to serve as a seat-belt while the other lived the moment through pixels on their phone camera as the entourage lapped the field.
Danielle Burgess, 22, is both pony ride supervisor and driver of the enormous pick-up truck and three-horse trailer for Laughing Stock Ranch. Similar to a midway carnie, she makes sure the ride is smooth and people aren鈥檛 hurt.
鈥淭he ponies, they love it. They just walk, right?鈥� she said as a toddler, right after being plopped into the saddle, contorted its face into the comically gruesome mix of delight and horror. 鈥淎nd the kids love them because they鈥檙e their size. Most kids in the city, if they go to take riding lessons, it鈥檚 on big horses so this gives them a different comfort zone. They鈥檙e small, they can move them around. They鈥檙e like a big dog!鈥�
The ponies, with their glitter-filled manes, are a regular feature of the festival, which had everything one would expect a carnival to be on the grounds of an elementary school. Games were scattered about the grassy field that also included the ubiquitous bouncy castle. There was also baked goods and plants for sale, a barbecue where many a dad was to be found, magic by the blue suit wearing Alex Seaman and, inside the gymnasium, tortoises, tarantulas and snakes brought in by The Reptile Guy.
The ponies, which have to be booked half-a-year in advance due to demand, are proof alone the festival鈥檚 organizers Loree Campbell and Carie Helm had it together聽 鈥斅� a feat for the first-time organizers who took over the reins from last year鈥檚 group whose kids are now in their final year at Mount Pleasant.
鈥淥urs are both in kindergarten 鈥� they鈥檙e going to burn us out in the first year,鈥� joked Campbell. The parental tour of volunteer duty is a sign of modern times, she added, and the reason for the festival鈥檚 existence, as it was part of a years-long fundraising drive to raise $180,000 for a new school playground and outdoor seating installed last year. The 麻豆传媒映画School Board deemed the previous playground unsafe and tore it down; the only remnant of its existence is through Google Maps, where it even looks sad and old through the fuzzy satellite image.
The cash-strapped board taketh, but won鈥檛 replace, which is why parents become fundraising experts and deft project managers by the time their children reach Grade 7.
The school may have built its expansive playground, but the Parent Advisory Committee鈥檚 fundraising efforts continue for items such as school field trips and outdoor sports equipment, said Campbell.
鈥淥ur theme this year is a celebration of community and so we wanted to give back to the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e wanted to make it as low-cost as possible, to try and appeal to all.鈥�
Having such old-timey carnival staples as pony rides guarantees that.
鈥淲e get repeat customers, all the time,鈥� said Burgess, while prepping Stella to take over for Pumpkin, who headed to shade for a water break. 鈥淲hen we did Bloedel Conservatory鈥檚 [Enchanted Nights] we had unicorn headbands and the girl who made them did a really, really good job. We convinced 80 per cent of the people that they were real unicorns. 鈥淲e鈥檇 have little girls telling their mothers, 鈥楳om. I told you unicorns were real.鈥� Yeah, man. It鈥檚 always a good time.鈥�
@rebeccablissett
