Well done Clyde!
As the sun set on the village’s annual Summer Solstice Festival, held on the longest day of the year, so too did the curtain close on the municipality’s much-anticipated 100th birthday.
It did not disappoint.
The weather was nearly perfect for Saturday’s showcase, which was chock full of events and displays for festival-goers of all ages.
And while the event has become a regular happening in our region’s busy summer festival schedule, this year’s version becomes the pinnacle due to the added significance of the village’s birthday.
Beyond the bouncy house and pony rides, the unbelievable parade that packed Main Street, or the evening cabaret, old connections were made as a stream of former villagers descended on the community for this once-in-a-lifetime bash. In many ways, the centennial took the feel of a homecoming, or even a family reunion, as old friendships were rekindled.
Now, much has been said and written about the village’s future — whether or not it should remain as a standalone municipality, or dissolve into Westlock County.
That’s not up debate for today.
But the one point we’ve made before, which bears repeating, is that regardless of its moniker, Clyde proved it will always be a special community due to the people who live there.
Whether Clyde is a village, city, town, or even a hamlet … it doesn’t really matter.
Whether Clyde has a mayor, council, or a representative at the county council table really doesn’t matter, either.
Ninety-year-old village resident Bobbie Rowland summed up the community perfectly in a piece on the history of the community which appears on Page 15 on this week’s News.
“It’s always about the people, the friendliness and the caring,” she said.
She’s right, as pulling off an event of this magnitude doesn’t happen without a ton of hard work from countless volunteers.
It’s the people that live in Clyde who make it special — the proof was on display Saturday.
Well done Clyde, and here’s to the next 100 years!
