A record-breaking ride and a wonderful Invasion

By Nerissa McNaughton

The World Snowmobile Invasion has revved up and taken off. Among the many highlights of the event was the parade. With an aim to break the current world record of 847 snowmobiles in one parade, the World Snowmobile Invasion was able to boast an incredible 1,044. While that number is not official until verified by Guinness, it soon became clear to all in attendance that they had achieved a record-breaking ride.

The fun was far from over once the parade took place. The Invasion lasted a total of five action-packed days, and featured everything from live entertainment to freestyle events. An event this size, however, seldom goes off without a couple of hiccups and, in this case, the hiccup was the hotly-anticipated performance of Alan Doyle, frontman for Great Big Sea. His performance started much later than planned.

The very affable Doyle was not pleased with the delay, as indicated by his Tweets as he dashed to Whitecourt. “Getting to Whitecourt, Alberta tonight even if I gotta snowshoe,” he started, followed later by “I just changed into my stage clothes in the back of a car bolting north on Highway 43 for Whitecourt, Alberta. Very Canadian rock and roll.”

With so many performers and events over the weekend such as Arrival (ABBA tribute band), Dreams (Fleetwood Mac tribute band), native dancing, and Japanese drumming, guests of the Invasion were very happy with the entertainment.

Once again, Whitecourt showed the world how Canada has fun in the winter. The event was a hit with both locals and tourists.