Not even a pandemic will stop Bowen from holding slug races.
Bowfest has recalibrated to COVID conditions to make sure islanders get a chance to celebrate all things Bowen on the last Saturday of August.
While the Bowfest committee decided back near the beginning of the pandemic to cancel the regular crowded field of activities, the committee has spent the past few months building a Bowfest like none before it.
“Bowen is such a long tradition on the island and we just didn’t want to miss doing something,” said Bowfest committee co-chair Joan Vyner. (It appears that there’s been some form of Bowen festival since the late 1950s according to Bowen archivist Cathy Bayly.) The ‘something’ is elaborate.
The day will start off with a parade in a top-secret location.
Any islander (or island bubble) can enter the parade in a personal vehicle decorated in this year’s theme: bubbles. The parading vehicles will drive past the judges and cameras and the audience will watch the video of festivities from home. After the parade, decorated cars are encouraged to roam the island bringing bubbling Bowfest spirit to the far reaches of Bowen. Those interested in entering the parade are asked to email parade.bowfest@gmail.com.
Next up is the country fair. Bowfest will host the fair on its Facebook page.
Entrants will upload photos of their entries starting 2 p.m. with prizes announced at 4 p.m. Categories this year include best LEGO design; best Bowen photo; biggest zucchini; most entertaining animal, vegetable or plant photo; and, of course, the slug race.
Finally, in the evening islanders will get a musical treat from Bowen’s own Black Molly with a concert livestreamed at 7:30 p.m. Vyner suggests at-home bubble dance parties. “It should be a lot of fun.”
While usually this time of year the committee would be selling tickets to the day-long festival on Bowfest field, instead they’re selling t-shirts and masks featuring Bo the banana slug (Bowfest’s mascot).
“We thought this would be a great time to commemorate the event––not only this Bowfest 2020 but just this weirdest year ever,” said Vyner.
There’s a limited supply of t-shirts so Vyner suggests ordering soon at bowfestshirts.eventbrite.ca. There are adult and kid sizes. Pick-up is in the BICS parking lot Aug. 26 and 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Vyner said that the dedicated volunteer committee will work over the coming year as the pandemic evolves to make sure there’s a celebration in 2021.
“We hope to be back at full Bowfest fest fun next year but we don’t know at this point.”
In the meantime, Vyner is excited for Aug. 29. “We want to thank the community for always supporting Bowfest in such a huge way,” she says. “That’s it makes it such a fantastic community event.”
Correction: an earlier version of this story said the start time for the Black Molly concert was 7 p.m.
