The Town of Leader is getting ready for a weekend of fun and community spirit as they kick off day one of the annual Wild West Daze. The weekend-long event has become a staple within the community with each year bringing something new while also keeping fan favourites on the docket year after year.

This year’s theme is Redneck Hootenanny and Brooke Clary, Recreation Director for the Town of Leader, said the Town has encouraged businesses to decorate their spaces in accordance with the theme to further set the scene for the weekend.

Wild West Daze not only provides fun for residents and visitors, it also is a main fundraiser for the community.

“All the money that is raised through Wild West Daze stays in the community,” said Clary, “Whether it’s upgrades to our G3 Iceplex that we donated to last year, or the ball diamonds, it all goes back into the community.”

This year’s event is focusing on extending the festivities into a full three-day long celebration. Although the Friday leading into Wild West Daze in previous years have hosted some events, Clary said they are looking to amp up the fun even more for this year.

“This year, we’ve really tried to beef up Friday night to make it a whole weekend event. Previously it’s only been a two-day event and this year we really wanted to bring in all three days so it’s an entire event, you come, you camp and you enjoy Wild West Daze.”

Planning for the annual celebration started approximately three months ago with numerous organizations and volunteers coming together to create a weekend of redneck hootenanny fun and fundraising.

Approximately $5000 was raised at last year’s Wild West Daze, which was donated to the G3 Iceplex project, which currently is $500,000 away from hitting their fundraising target of $1.5 million. Clary said they have not yet determined where this year’s funds will be put towards and that they will meet on Monday following the event to tally numbers and make the final decisions.