Bay Roberts’ Klondyke Days is all about fun and festivities

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Bay Roberts’ annual summer celebration, Klondyke Days, will begin next week on July 24. Running for nearly two weeks, the festivities are filled with events and activities for all to enjoy. Mayor Walter Yetman said the festival has certainly evolved and grown over the years.

When he was young, Yetman recalled, the town had a municipal celebration called Bay Roberts Day. It lasted one day only and did not involve a great array of activities. Yetman recalls games on the parking lot at Beaver Plaza, but not much else.

Years later, along came Ron Delaney, Bay Roberts’ Director of Tourism and Development. 

“He has a vision of how to celebrate,” Yetman said. 

Delaney and the town council decided civic events needed to be celebrated more and involve the community as much as possible. Delaney’s idea of a celebration blossomed into what is known as Klondyke Days, a festival which is about to celebrate its 29th year. Next year, 2025, will be its big 30th anniversary. The Town chose the name Klondyke, to honour the historic causeway that was built by residents of Bay Roberts and Coley’s Point across the harbour in the 1890s. 

Around the turn of the 21st century the Town of Bay Roberts staged its first Klondyke Concert. The event was a big success and continued to be for several years. The annual concert drew people from across the province, with more than 20,000 people gathering at the Bay Roberts baseball field. However, other towns too began to hold such concerts of their own, and interest in such events was spread thinner across municipalities. So, council retired the idea and decided to focus efforts and interest on other things. That turned out to be a good thing in the long run. Refocusing those efforts paved the way for new events including the Songs, Stages, and Seafood Festival, the Tulip Festival, Light the Lamp ball hockey tournament, and more. Council and staff also wanted to prioritize the improvement of Klondyke Days itself. That has involved the participation of many volunteers and community groups in Bay Roberts, Coley’s Point and Shearstown.

Mayor Yetman explained that as plans for Klondyke Days come together every year, the Town reaches out to community groups, organizations to ask if they would like to hold an event during the festival. Those events are then fitted into the Klondyke Days calendar. There are numerous activities and goings-on that people can partake in, among them, community breakfasts, free concerts at the park, and entertainment at local pubs. This year will see the third annual “Come Home to Quilts” show, which will be held at the Visitor Information Centre, and Toutons and Tunes, which will be held at the Shoreline Heritage Trail. Powell’s Supermarket will be hosting a Tons of Toonie Fun event, the proceeds of which will go to the Make a Wish Foundation for children with life threating illnesses. Most events are free, but those that cost money, like the breakfasts and Tons and Toonie Fun Day are typically used for charitable benefit. 

In the spirit of its name and its historic role in connecting people, Klondyke Days honours the five communities that comprise the town: Shearstown, Coley’s Point, Butlerville, Country Road, and, of course, Bay Roberts. 

Yetman said Klondyke Days celebrates the entire town. “This is the whole community,” he said. “When the effort’s put in to make this a two-week long celebration, I think it goes to show all the residents that we are very proud and we want to celebrate. And we want to include the community groups and the residents from all over, every single community.” 

Yetman said the continuing success of the festival after nearly three decades goes to show the Town is doing something right. Such a large event experiencing such longevity is no easy feat. “Hats off to our staff and our volunteers and council again for supporting this,” said Yetman. “It’s a coordinated effort.”

Klondyke Days will kick off on Wednesday, July 24th with the Klondyke Parade, which will wind its way to the Royal Canadian Legion where celebrations will continue afterward. These opening festivities are Mayor Yetman’s favourite part of Klondyke Days. 

“It’s a lot of fun. The parade comes to the Legion. I get a chance to tell some really bad jokes,” he said, laughing. “I just enjoy the atmosphere and being relaxed. We cut a cake, and we have some treats there for everyone, council’s there cooking up (food), and the excitement of the parade coming in. I love it.” 

The festivities last until August 5th with big fireworks show on the Klondyke. While fireworks are put off by the Town on Canada Day and New Year’s, it always tries to make the ones for the Klondyke Days finale especially spectacular.