On March 3 the Togo Figure Skating Club held its annual Ice Carnival at the Togo Centennial Arena.
Called the Kaleidoscope of Colours, the carnival featured skaters from age three to 16, in Beginners to Group 5.
Amanda Burback was emcee for the program.
To start the program, during the signing of O Canada Kate Erhardt carried the Canadian flag, Justus Blackwood the Saskatchewan flag and Zachary Burback the Manitoba flag.
Skating to Yellow Submarine by the Beatles, the Beginners group, with assistance from Aiden Stone (coach helper) Kate Erhardt (assistant coach) and Krista Taylor (coach) were: Arebelle Adam, Mason Cockerill, Hunter Hilderman and Maelie Hilderman.
Next up, skating to Angel in Blue Jeans by Train, was Group 5 comprised of Maison Davis, Willow Davis and Sierra Langan.
Subsequent performances were: solo by Zachary Burback (Group 4) to Back in Black by AC/DC; Meredith Burback, Peyton Burback, Cage Clark, Emery Laviolette, Jocelyn Mann, Kruz Martin and Trista Palagian (Group 2) to 99 Red Balloons by Nena; duet by Justus Blackwood and Levi Erhardt (Group 4) to Green Light by Pitbull; duet by Jacob Burback and Max Stone (Group 4) to Blue by Eiffel 65; solo by Kate Erhardt to My Ballerina Dream, for which she had won gold for her performance at the Skate Canada Manitoba STARSkate Parkland Regionals (Interpretive Solo); Shilo Blackwood, Aliyah Cymbalisty and Nation Paul (Group 3) to Colours by MNEK feat. Hailee Steinfeld; Justus Blackwood, Jacob Burback, Zachary Burback, Levi Erhardt and Max Stone (Group 4) to Men in Black by Will Smith; solo by Willow Davis (Group 5) to Colours by Jason Derulo; Raeleigh Burback, Joseph Cymbalisty, Harper Laviolette, Easton Mann, Breah Martin and Lucas Stone (Group 1) to Karma Chameleon by the Culture Club, and a solo by Maison Davis (Group 5) to Colours of the Wind by Tori Kelly.
A special CanPowerSkate number was presented by the members of the Club who had earlier in the season participated in the CanPowerSkate program taught by Jeremy Allard to 16 students, half of whom were Club members.
Implemented by Skate Canada in 1986 to focus on skating development for ice sports outside of figure skating, the CanPowerSkate program was designed to assist the development of both hockey and ringette skaters, said information from the Club.
The program focuses on the development of quality technique of skating skills required for hockey/ringette. All participants must be in full hockey/ringette equipment: helmet, gloves, sticks and hockey skates are mandatory.
In 2018/19 the Togo Figure Skating Club partnered with Jeremy Allard of Kamsack, coach, to offer a ten session program. The limit was 20 participants, and 16 skaters joined the program, including: Liam Adam, Justus Blackwood, Shilo Blackwood, Zachary Burback, Jacob Burback, Levi Erhardt, Robbie Grieve, Jax Harper, Kailey Harper, Camryn Kosokowsky, Kruz Martin, Skyler Semenuik-Holliday, Aiden Stone, Max Stone, Lucas Stone and Quinn Summers.
The grand finale of the program, “Our Kaleidoscope of Colours,” had all of the figure skaters skate onto the ice to take a bow. Liam Adam was unavailable for the carnival performance.
The theme of “Kaleidoscope of Colours” was born when Loretta Erhardt and Amanda Burback discussed the idea of having each group perform to a different colour.
Dustin Wilson was the photographer for the event. During intermission, goodies provided by the Club parents were available along with refreshments.
A 50/50 draw of $175 was won by Rosalie Hilderman, a grandmother who has three grandchildren in the Club, and she generously donated a portion back to the club, said Erhardt.
There was a raffle table, lotto tree, “guess the number of jawbreakers” game and roses for purchase to give to one’s favourite skater.
“We are very pleased with the success of this season,” Erhardt said. “We could see the progress the kids were making as the season continued. We keep attracting new members, and definitely feel it is a quality program.
“We would like to acknowledge all of the parents and community members for their support
“The coach, Krista Taylor, will do a report card wind-up on March 23. It will be a fun skate for the kids, the rink will have a limited menu, and each skater will receive their report card and a gift from the Club. It’s a nice way to end the season,” she concluded.
