Smithers Baptist Church

As with many small towns, Smithers hosts an annual Fall Fair complete with a parade that runs through the centre of town, down Main Street. It had been many years since our church participated in the parade, so in 2018, we decided to get involved by entering a float. 

The theme was Ferris Wheels and Wagon Wheels. We constructed a 12 foot high ferris wheel, that was nothing short of spectacular!!  In fact someone ended up buying it for $500 after the fair!  A number of families participated on parade day, both from our church and their friends who came to help. More than twenty kids (many of them unchurched) dressed up and rode the float as it made its way through town. 

A local business donated a big beautiful banner with our logo on it and our church added more banners telling people about God's great love for them. We handed out candy... lots of candy. And only the best, because that's what God gave us. Altogether we gave out 300-400 individually wrapped chocolate wagon wheels, toffee and suckers.

Our float won first place for our category and was arguably the best float in the parade! For weeks following, members in the community commented on our float. In serving and blessing our community, it brought our church and families together, involved new people and families, and infused our faith community with a sense of morale, pride, purpose and excitement that we hadn't experienced for years!

Bryan Reagh