There is St. Jacobs Sparkles in the winter, and now the village has St. Jacobs Amazing Weekend.
Mel Fishman from the St. Jacobs Homeowners Association says the June 10 and 11 event will build on the success of last year’s St. Jacobs Amazing Race, which saw families and teams of friends run around St. Jacobs completing obstacles as fast as they could.
“The race is still a major feature of the weekend, but now, we’ve got entertainment out in the streets, there is a race after party, we have KW Glee coming to do a performance, some local entertainment as well,” she said. “We have got the St. Jacobs Amazing Treasure Hunt, which will be set up like a geocache where people can find coupons or gift cards for shops in town.”
Non-racers will also be able to try out a couple of the obstacles featured in both the family and adult races.
“This year, we have a company coming out to do some canoeing in the river and a couple of other fun things like that. When people are just walking by, it is nice to be able to just give it a shot,” shared Fishman.
Along with extending the offerings, Fishman says they are changing up the course, bringing it down to the village from up at the St Jacobs Lions Hall.
“We want it to be right down where everyone will be. The Saturday race is adults only and will go all the way down to the market, through the market and back up again, then we will be going to Max’s Sports World for some axe-throwing, Conestoga Horseback adventures will be out to do a task on the trails,” she said. “We have almost double the number of businesses along King Street involved as well. All of our finish line events will be held at Shadetree on King Street.”
Last year’s race was hugely popular, selling out quickly. Fishman says this year, they have received a similar response.
“Our family race definitely sold out quickly. For our adult race, there has been great interest. I think maybe that might take some time to catch on,” she said. “The popularity is insane, though. Our Facebook page has had over 10,000 people visiting over the last month or so.”
Fishman says having community groups like the St. Jacobs Business Improvement Area and the St. Jacobs Lions Club is what the village is all about.
“It is awesome, and that is the point,” she said. “The original idea was to have the community join up with local businesses and work together to prevent St. Jacobs from becoming a sleepy town. We want to keep things alive and keep them going and bring as many people into St. Jacobs as we can.”
For St. Jacobs Amazing Treasure Hunt clues and to see everything available, visit the event Facebook page by searching ‘St. Jacobs Amazing Weekend.’
