The Riversdale community was well fed and well entertained on Saturday thanks to a new street festival: Forkin’ around in Riversdale. The one-day street festival highlighted the various food and beverage vendors in the area while also providing entertainment and was hosted on Saturday. One particular event that drew in a large crowd was a unique sport that requires skill, speed and soap, bathtub racing. “We wanted some sort of charitable component. And so when the BID said, ‘well, we’ve got these bathtubs, so I think we could turn into something,’ I tried to figure out how can we tie this into some sort of food and beverage event? So I figured that’s why we’re doing the Fill the Tub campaign,” Casey Mintzler, the event manager said. A section of 20th Street was closed off and transformed into a bathtub racetrack. Two specially modified bathtubs with wheels and a fresh paint job served as the vessel for the race, which were pushed by three team members as the fourth sat inside the tub to steer. A series of different courses were set up to test the speed, skill and agility of the teams. Various community organizations were represented in the race, with the proceeds going to a variety of local outreach groups, including the Crocus Cooperative. “We’re a mental health drop-in centre down here in the community. We’re one of the only drop-in centres in Saskatoon and I think it’s just good for people to know that we’re here and the type of work we do in the community. We do some really positive things down here, and the support we provide to people that are living with mental illness is really important in that community,” Corinne Anthony, the executive director of Crocus Cooperative, said. The Crocus Cooperative had a tub in the race, and Anthony shared that when the idea was first brought to her team, it immediately sparked interest. “We kind of chuckled. And so I pitched it to my staff and my board and we have a staff member here today, and some board members that have joined, and they’re going to be the ones, pushing the bathtub today and they were all eager and ready to go,” Anthony said. Mintzler added that the organizing team behind the event wanted to ensure that the festival both highlighted the Riversdale business community and the outreach groups in the area. “We wanted to especially focus on businesses within the BID. So we’re lucky that the Food Bank is right over here, as well as the Crocus Cooperative, which was going to be the beneficiary of the funds from the races,” Mintzler said. The Crocus Cooperative provides a variety of services aimed at improving mental health support, and Anthony explained that the funds from this event are going to make a big difference for the organization. “Anything from programming to our transitional employment program, just a variety of things that we do at our drop-in... we’re really proud to be part of the Riversdale community,” Anthony said. The executive director added that Forkin’ Around in Riversdale is an event her team hopes to see return for many years to come. “They’ve designed helmets, they’ve got costumes, so they were pretty excited. We love to showcase Crocus and what we do and taking part in events like this just showcases that we’re part of the community and we want people to know about us and, know that we’re proud to be part of Riversdale,” Anthony said.
