This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Winter Carnival
This weekend's Barrie Winterfest reminds us how to find the fun in the weather we live with.
Barrie’s first winter carnival was held in 1957. The event was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, hoping to create a winter attraction for Barrie.
The focus of the carnival was around the Barrie International Speed Skating Championships, sanctioned by the Central Ontario Speed Skating Association. Top skaters from the U.S. and Canada would be competing on the ice of Kempenfelt Bay in front of St. Vincent Park, which afforded a natural ‘grandstand’ for spectators.
In addition to the excitement of the speed-skating competition, other ‘winter’ activities took place over the weekend, such as broomball games, elementary school relay races, figure skating, and barrel jumping. Ice was also cleared on the bay to allow for public skating.
But long before organized competitions and carnivals, in the early days and with only crude ‘equipment’, Kempenfelt Bay offered miles of ice skating for those who enjoyed striking out on a clear day or moonlit night.
A far more sophisticated skating experience would come when the Mary Street rink opened about 1876. Whether you could or did skate, the rink was a winter gathering spot in the most social way.
The space was used for curling and skating, and since it opened before electricity came to Barrie, it was lit by coal oil lamps until gas jets were added a couple years later. A ticket window, old box stoves in the waiting room and a glass-enclosed gallery for the band completed this community winter ‘hot spot’.
Skaters, both young and old, enjoyed the facilities for as long as the ice was in good condition and the weather stayed reasonably cold – skating was known to continue into April. The official close and highlight of the season was marked by a masquerade carnival with skating and live music going late into the night.
Typical skate days saw both seasoned and struggling new skaters, daring groups playing crack-the-whip, shy new couples holding hands making their laps to the sound of the band, while young boys were darting in and out, racing everywhere. Many came just to mingle, visit with friends, enjoy the tunes and watch the action.
If this reminds you of typical Saturday afternoon public skates at the Dunlop Street arena, with the music blaring, giggling teens and young guys zooming in between everyone, then some things really haven’t changed that much.
Basil Daines, a builder and promoter of the Ski Village on Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, accomplished skier and winter sports enthusiast and competitor, said in 1950, not long after moving here, that Barrie was ideally positioned to become a winter event centre. With a four-lane highway about to open and nearby topography suitable for skiing, it would be easy for people in Toronto to make the trip to Barrie for the weekend to enjoy winter sports.
So staging a winter carnival, he advised, would be a way to attract winter business, give Barrie important visibility and exposure, while encouraging healthy outdoor activity.
At its peak, the Barrie Winter Carnival had many activities, most of them right on the ice: skating and games, horsedrawn sleighs, dogsled races, log-sawing, ice and snow sculptures, motorcycles races, helicopter rides (video), parades, snowmobiles (video), go-carts, ice-out cars, plane rides and of course, speed skating.
Although the carnival is no longer held on the ice, Barrie is still keeping this winter tradition alive.
Enjoy these old Barrie carnival and winter photos!
