Elenee Young prepares some fresh la tire on a beautiful Saturday morning during Spiro’s Winter Bloc Party. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
The weather wasn’t all that frightful and the la tire was so darn delightful.
That’s what was going through the mind of Elenee Young, one of the proprietors of Spiro’s Family Restaurant, during the businesses’ Winter Bloc Party, held on Saturday in and around the restaurant.
“First of all, we are not a separatist party. I’ve had to explain that to many people because we spelled it with just one C and no K, for the record,” she said with a laugh.
“We are celebrating something similar to Carnaval de Quebec, which is something they do every year for two weeks during the month of February.”
After attending École St. Thomas as a kid, Young wanted the entire community to enjoy Carnaval-type events even if they didn’t attend the french-immersion school.
“In a way, it feels like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of masking and mandates, so it feels like this is something we’re celebrating. That’s not why we did this, but the timing just worked out really well,” she said.
“We sort of wanted to recreate the summer parties we have out here, but in the winter.”
Aside from la tire, the Bloc Party included free hot chocolate, sleigh and tractor rides, a wall of snow painted by Brandi Hofer, Blue Angel Donuts, and much more.
“We’ve got s’mores,” she said. “We’ve also got the Lloydminster Rescue Squad out today and they brought a trailer that we’re filling with non-perishable food items, which we’re then donating to The Olive Tree, which is pretty cool.”
Novlan Bros Sales also hooked Spiro’s up with a New Holland tractor for the event, which shuttled attendees from their parking lot to the north field at the Servus Sports Centre where they could enjoy a sleigh ride.
“What a perfect day for this,” she said.
“It’s -3C and everyone has a smile on their face.
“Of course, starting at 1 p.m., we have a wine pairing event happening on our patio, which is tailored to the adults.”
