A small town has recently celebrated their first ever homecoming event, and it's festivities have made the community more connected than ever. The first ever Gravelbourg Homecoming Weekend put a spotlight on Gravelbourg's rich history and interesting cultural background. 

The main draws of the weekend were a classic car show, tours of the town's museum, convent, and cathedral. There was also a DJ, a bouncy castle and multiple food options in the park. This event was born out of a need for community engagement, as the summer solstice festival for which Gravelbourg was famous, has not been able to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Homecoming weekend was intended to provide the town with the same chance to gather for entertainment among all ages.

Toos Giesen-Stefiuk, the chair of the Gravelbourg & District Museum, says that the debut of the event was a success thanks to multiple community groups. "Our idea was instead of one person in charge of everything, let's create groups... we got a lot of good responses and suggestions for next year on how to grow this festival."

The Gravelbourg Chamber organized the car show, small businesses put on a sidewalk sale, and the local fire department held a barbecue. Giesen-Stefiuk says that helped to take the weight off of just one person's shoulders. 

"We have so much going for us in this little town, and it's nice for us all to come together, we've got people from East India, South Africa, Australia...We will grow for sure. We've already decided to have a meeting with many people to have ideas, and figure out what we should do again and what didn't work. We will do this again next year, for sure."

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