When they started Welcome to the Lake 10 years ago, Nick Trofimuk and Sharon DesRoches had little idea how popular the event would be.
The two co-organizers just wanted to find a way to promote local businesses and help raise money for local non-profits and service clubs.
A decade later, things have expanded further than they ever anticipated.
“When we started this we had no plan,” Trofimuk said. “We just started it to see how it was going to go. We worked year by year and it was always getting a little bit bigger.”
The original plan was to come up with a one-day radio event that gave businesses service clubs from Candle Lake, Paddockwood and Christopher Lake a chance to promote themselves while raising money.
The original idea proved so popular in Candle Lake that Trofimuk and DesRoches had all their slots filled before they even approached the other two communities. Once radio partners CKBI came on board, Welcome to the Lake was born.
The event is one part farmer’s market and one part barbeque, with live music and product demonstrations thrown in for good measure. On Friday, local residents filled the parking lot at the local community credit union to raise funds and enjoy the festivities.
“A lot of people didn’t think it would work on a Friday,” DesRoches chuckled. “One lady’s comment today was, ‘I don’t know how it can be better on a Saturday, because look at today.’”
For the rest of this story, please see the May 20 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.
